The six-laning of National Highway 66 has cleared another hurdle with the Standing Financing Committee (SFC) of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways clearing the 29.95-km Taliparamba-Muzhappilangad reach in Kannur.
With this, all six-laning works of the National Highway in Kasaragod, Kannur, and Kozhikode districts spread over four reaches have got the MoRTH approval. (Thalapady-Chengala, Chengala- Neeleswaram, Neeleswaram-Taliparamba are the other reaches.)
While the Thalaserry-Mahe bypass work is on, the Kozhikode bypass work has been disrupted due to financial issues faced by the company engaged for the purpose.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has informed the State that tenders have been invited for the 29.95-km corridor and that the six-laning works will be completed in 30 months, Minister for Public Works G. Sudhakaran said on Saturday.
The NHAI has estimated that the civil works on the Taliparamba-Muzhappilangad corridor will cost ₹1,428.94 crore and land acquisition ₹1,234.80 crore. The State will pay 25% cost of the land to the NHAI . The funds are to be made available by the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board.
A major bridge, three minor bridges, 91 culverts, five rail/road overbridges (ROBs), and five viaducts and 38.46 km of service road and slip road are part of the proposed six-lane corridor that will have a right of way (RoW) of 45 metres, the Minister said.
Bharatmala project
Hybrid annuity mode will be adopted by the NHAI for executing the works to be taken up under the MoRTH’s Bharatmala Pariyojana project.
The stretch is part of the 526-km NH 66 corridor from Talapady on the Kerala-Karnataka border in Kasaragod to Kazhakuttam in the State capital that is being six-laned by the NHAI.
