With the conversion of the Tamil Nadu stretch of Kochi-Dhanushkodi National Highway (NH 85) into an expressway, the travel time between Munnar and Madurai on the narrow stretch will be reduced by 1 hour and a half. The land acquisition process is progressing rapidly so as to begin the work by March next year.
According to the officials of the Madurai section of the National Highway Authority of India (NAHAI), ₹660 crore was allocated under the Bharatmala Paryojana scheme for the expressway.
The renovation will be done from Bodinayakanur to Madurai in Tamil Nadu with a 45-km stretch between Andipatty and Usilampatty (29 km) and Theni-Bodimettu (16 km) converted to four-lane traffic.
At present, the travel time between Munnar and Madurai, a distance of 165 km, is five hours and the residents of Munnar depend on the road mainly for medical treatment purposes.
The road is also an easy link for tourists to reach Munnar.
250 ha to be acquired
Three bypasses, nine small bridges, two railway overbridges, and 52 culverts will be newly constructed.
The authorities will take over 250 hectares of land for the project and it is expected to be completed in nine months. Those tourists reaching from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu use the road to reach Munnar and proceed to either Kochi or Thekkady.
An important feature of the expressway is that its alignment will not touch the busy towns of Usilampatty, Andipatty, and Bodinaykanur, saving the travel time and reducing the distance.
NH renovation
Meanwhile, the widening the National Highway from Munnar to Bodimettu in Kerala was also progressing. The work on the narrow stretch here, a distance of 42 km, was started nearly an year ago.
An amount of ₹382 crore was allocated for it and when the work on the four-lane expressway in Tamil Nadu will be completed, the work on Munnar-Bodimettu stretch of the National Highway will also be completed.
The Kochi-Dhanushkodi route has got prominence as it is the entrance to Munnar from the neighbouring States to proceed to other tourist destinations in Kerala, in addition to connecting to the Cochin International Airport.
