nion Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari will lay the foundation stone for the first phase of the four-laning of the NH 66 from Kazhakuttom to Mukkola on September 1 at the Kazhakuttom junction.
The widened 43-km bypass stretching up to Karode on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border is expected to decongest the city and further boost the prospects of the Technopark, international airport, Kovalam-Poovar tourism corridor, and the forthcoming Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multipurpose seaport. Works on the 16.3-km stretch from Mukkola to Karode will be tendered later as land acquisition has not been completed due to objections to land price.
The 24-month Engineering, Procurement, Construction (EPC) contract for the four-laning of the 26.5-km Kazhakuttam-Mukkola stretch came into effect from June 12 this year. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has awarded the work to the Hyderabad-based KNR Constructions Ltd. and the time frame is 24 months.
Preparatory work
The utilities on the stretch were not removed by the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) and the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) on time and there were objections to felling of trees too. This resulted in delay in handing over the encumbrance free-land to the KNRCL.
The KWA and KSEB have now given the estimate for the work to the NHAI. The Regional Officer, NHAI, had the powers to sanction the work and it would come through soon, a top NHAI official told The Hindu . The KWA had given the administrative nod for shifting the pipes dumped on the stretch.
Land for a four-lane carriageway was acquired from Kazhakuttam to Kovalam Junction when the bypass was conceived four decades ago. The NHAI has now demarcated the boundary for the 45-metre carriageway up to Kovalam. The PWD will commence work to lay boundary stones. Already, two encroachments have been detected and the State will have to remove them soon. The central line of the carriageway has been fixed in the first 15 km and the entire work is to be completed in two to three days. The district administration is yet to act on the demand to cut trees. “Only if the site is free from encumbrance, can we put pressure on EPC contractor to commence work,” the official said.
Toll plaza
The NHAI opted for the EPC mode since efforts to take up work on the build-operate-transfer (BOT) mode did not succeed. L&T was the other bidder. The Centre is funding the project and the road users will have to pay toll as the EPC contractor will exit after the work. The toll plaza will be near the Akkulam bridge. The EPC contractor has set up office near Infosys campus on the bypass.
Of the Rs.845.24 crore project cost, Rs.669.06 crore is for civil works. The 43-km stretch is part of the 212-km NH 66 bypass project of the NHAI from Thuravur, the work on which started in 1974. The 22-km first phase from Kazhakuttam to Kovalam was made two-lane 15 years ago.
