East Coast Road (ECR), combination of SH-49, NH-332A, NH-32, officially known as Mutthamizh Arignar Kalaignar Road, is a two-lane highway (now being partially upgraded to four-lane way from Chennai to Mamallapuram) in Tamil Nadu, India, built along the coast of the Bay of Bengal connecting Tamil Nadu's state capital city Chennai with Kanyakumari via Puducherry, Cuddalore, Chidambaram, Sirkali, Thirukkadaiyur, Tharangambadi, Karaikal, Nagore, Nagapattinam, Thiruthuraipoondi, Muthupet, Adirampattinam, Manora, Manamelkudi, Mimisal, Ramanathapuram, Thoothukudi, Tiruchendur, Uvari, Kudankulam. The total length of the road is about 777 km between Chennai and Kanyakumari. ECR once existed from Chennai to Puducherry, later it has been extended to Cuddalore and then to Nagapattinam and then Tuticorin via Ramanathapuram and finally up to Kanyakumari. The highway is a state highway maintained by the Government of Tamil Nadu under the Department of Highways and Minor Ports and Tamil Nadu Road Infrastructure Development Corporation (TNRIDC). It was a two-lane highway, and has plans to upgrade into four-lane divided highway till Kanyakumari. It is the most preferred alternate route for southern districts of Tamil Nadu. The Chennai neighbourhoods on ECR are Thiruvanmiyur, Kottivakkam, Palavakkam, Neelankarai, Injambakkam, Panaiyur, Uthandi, Muttukadu, Covelong and Vilambur. From Wikipedia