The road widening works on the Gap Road stretch of the Kochi-Dhanushkodi National Highway resumed on Friday. The district administration had suspended the work and banned traffic on the stretch after a landslip on October 8. Officials from the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Calicut, inspected the area and submitted an interim report to National Highway Authority of India and the district disaster management authority. A final report by the NIT-C is expected soon.
An assistant executive engineer, NHAI, said landslip debris was being removed from the road. It is expected that traffic could be resumed after two weeks, after putting foolproof safety measures in place. The landslip on October 8 had killed two persons engaged in road widening works. On July 28, a landslip had damaged the vehicles and shops.
14 landslips
After the first landslip, traffic was suspended for a month, and resumed on September 7. Fourteen landslips have occurred on the Gap Road stretch since the widening works were launched. A report submitted by the Devikulam subcollector to Revenue Principal Secretary pointed out that the unscientific road widening works had resulted in landslips on the Gap Road.
