The 2.7-km flyover proposed at Kazhakuttam along the National Highway (NH) 66 and the NH 66 Bypass extending to Karode is to be executed as a standalone project on the Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) mode.
Estimated to cost ₹349 crore, the longest flyover in the State capital is being executed under National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) to make travel hassle-free to Technopark, where over 50,000 IT professionals work, and along the Bypass and to avoid congestion in Kazhakuttam.
The MoRTH has cleared the technical schedule and the contract document for the flyover to be taken up on EPC mode and the stage is set for floating the tenders, a senior NHAI official said.
The four-lane flyover is to commence from near the main gate of Technopark in the NH 66 bypass and terminate near the CSI Mission Hospital in NH 66 enroute to Kollam. The initial proposal was to have
a 1.4 km flyover. Later it was decided to go for a 2.34 km from near Technopark gate that will terminate near Kazhakuttam police station.
The decision to extend the flyover further is considering Kazhakuttam station of the proposed 21.82 km Light Metro corridor from Technocity to Karamana, convention centre in the stretch, future traffic volume and four-laning of Kazhakuttam-Cherthala NH 66 corridor, he said.
Soil testing has commenced for the flyover to come up in 75-odd piers, each 30 metres apart. The pillars to come up in the median will have a diameter of four m. The main carriageway will be 21 m. The EPC
contractor is to get 18 months to complete the flyover once the work is awarded.
Vehicles coming via the bypass from Chakka to Attingal and Kollam can move along the flyover and proceed via NH 66. Those coming via the bypass to go to Sports Hub, Kariavattam campus of University of Kerala, LNCPE, and Pangappara can move along the bypass and turn right at Kazhakuttam junction. The techies can use the developed 45 m carriageway of the NH 66 bypass to enter Technopark.
The approval for the flyover was given by Union Minister for Surface Transport and Shipping Nitin Gadkari in September 2015 while launching the works of the four-laning of the bypass. An underpass announced in front of Technopark had been shelved as it was not found feasible.
