A KSRTC bus navigating along the narrow NH 66 just beyond Edappally junction. The NHAI has revised the date to complete six-laning of the 22-km Edappally-Muthakunnam stretch of NH 66 from March to June 2025, citing slight change of alignment and more underpasses in the corridor.
| Photo Credit: H. VIBHU
The deadline for the completion of six-laning of the 22-km Edappally-Muthakunnam stretch of National Highway-66 has been revised to June 2025.
According to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), this was warranted by a slight change in alignment, the heavy spell of rains, and difficulty in sourcing sand for its construction.
Approximately 12 km of the alignment was straightened at different places, keeping in mind the safety of vehicles and faster commute. A key one among them is in the congested North Paravur town, where the upcoming highway will act as a bypass corridor.
“We have so far completed 45% of the work to widen the two-lane highway into a six-lane one that is flanked by a pair of two-lane service roads. They include four flyovers, seven major and eight minor bridges, eight major and nine medium-type vehicle underpasses [VUPs], and a pedestrian underpass. The bridge parallel to the two-lane Varapuzha bridge will be a balanced cantilever structure, with pillars located at a distance of around 90 metres from each other,” said an official. Even as NHAI officials are confident of completing the congested highway’s widening by June 2025, residents and traders are still up in arms against the construction of the NH, service roads, and drains which, they say, are being built at a raised elevation than before.
Citing that this would result in houses and other structures on either side getting inundated during rain, Cheranalloor panchayat and residents have challenged the “unjustified” elevation before the Kerala High Court, following which an amicus curiae was appointment to study the issue, said Rajesh, president of the panchayat.
“The inadequate width of the service roads at a few places is yet another issue, what with the width being less than six metres in such locales. The NHAI must also confirm the location of exit points from the service roads to the main carriageway, to prevent accidents. All this shows that the highway was not designed properly, and that the ultimate focus is on imposing toll. These issues and the massive displacement of people could have been avoided if the agency had built an elevated highway in the Varapuzha-Edappally-Aroor corridor,” he said.
VUPs at Edappally
Keeping in mind the urgency of building a pair of vehicle underpasses having six-lane width located around 700 metres away from Edappally Junction to decongest it, the NHAI has entrusted the work and that of widening the NH 66 corridor to the same project implementing unit (PIU) based in Kochi.
The VUPs have been envisaged near LuLu Group’s corporate office on the northern side of Edappally Junction and on the northern side of Oberon Mall that is located on the junction’s southern side.
The same PIU has been tasked with constructing a 16-km elevated highway that the NHAI is expected to build. It would take off from near the mall and end at Aroor.
