As part of efforts to decongest the Thamarassery Ghat Road, the Public Works Department (PWD) is thinking of widening the existing Kozhikode-Mysuru Road via Perambra and Kuttiyadi in the district.
If it materialises, the road can be linked with the rural areas of Kozhikode and Wayanad districts as well, thus improving connectivity to Karnataka.
Officials say that many stretches of the road already form part of the State Highway and it will not be difficult to acquire land for widening purposes. Some of the land is in the possession of the Revenue Department.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has also evinced interest in the project. The elected representatives of grama panchayats of Kozhikode and Wayanad will have to hold discussions on widening the road. The Department of Forest and Wildlife should be roped in to sort out issues related to the destruction of forestland, they say.
Meanwhile the State government has tasked the Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for the construction of another alternative road linking Kozhikode to Wayanad.
Tunnel road
The proposal is to construct a 6.5-km tunnel road on the Anakkampoyil-Kalladi-Meppadi stretch for two-lane traffic and a 70-metre bridge across the Iruvanjippuzha for two-lane traffic.
Previously the plan was to construct a road from Chippilithodu via Maruthilavu to Thalipuzha as an alternative to the existing Wayanad Ghat Road section. A road was to be constructed from Chippilithodu to reach Thalipuzha in Wayanad district via Vythiri village.
The proposed 75-km Kozhikode-Kalpetta road is still on paper for over 20 years as the alignment of the road is through reserve forests and ecologically fragile land in both districts.
About 4.85 hectares of forestland for the project is in Kozhikode district and 12 hectares in Wayanad district. The road has to be constructed on 8.74 km in Kozhikode and 5.7 km in Wayanad.
The proposals for alternative roads usually come up when traffic hold-ups on the Ghat Road increase due to accidents on the stretch. During the monsoon, the stretch witnesses landslips too.
