Decks have been cleared for floating tenders for the four-laning of the 5-km Pravachambalam-Balaramapuram second reach of the 29.2-km Karamana-Kaliyikkavila stretch of National Highway 66.
“Land acquisition for the work has been completed. Though we planned to commence the tender process last month, it got delayed over the approval of DPR. The tenders will be floated soon and the work will be executed using Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) funds,” a top PWD official told The Hindu .
The work will be executed by the PWD (National Highway wing).
The ₹266 crore needed for land acquisition had been handed over to the District Collector to complete disbursement of compensation.
RoW
Like the 5.5-km first reach from Karamana to Pravachambalam that was commissioned on March 1, 2016, the stretch will have a Right of Way (RoW) of 30.2 m with a 3.5-m median to accommodate the MRTS in the future up to Neyyattinkara.
There will also be a 2.6-m footpath, of which 1.5 metres would be provided with paved tiles.
The remaining portion will be used as a utility corridor so that roads need not be dug up for laying telecom and power cables and drinking water pipes.
Social impact study
The Social Impact Assessment study for the 1.5-km stretch from Balaramapuram to Vazhimukku is on.
A sum of ₹98.1 crore is needed for land acquisition in the stretch that has got administrative sanction already. The PWD has commenced steps to fix the alignment for the four-laning of the remaining 18.7-km stretch from Vazhimukku to Kaliyikkavila.
Though the Reach I was commissioned on March 1, 2016 during the tenure of the UDF Ministry, the four-laning of Reach II had been dragging on for want of funds.
Despite being included in the 10 mega projects to be taken up under the District Flagship Infrastructure Project (DFIP), funds were not allocated by the UDF government. The work needed revised administrative sanction and approval of DPR even after it was decided to take it up under KIIFB.
Welcome for decision
Karamana-Kaliyikkavila National Highway Development Action Council general secretary S.K. Jayakumar welcomed the decision to float the bids.
He, however, added that the Revenue Department was yet to take steps for the rehabilitation of 22 families being displaced at Pravachambalam.
The PWD (NH) wing plans to complete the maximum work before the onset of monsoon.
