THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The commissioning of the second phase of NH 66 bypass from Mukkola near Vizhinjam to Karode near the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border will be delayed. Though Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that the stretch, the first concrete highway in the state, will be opened for traffic in September this year, the work cannot be completed by that time due to various hurdles. So far, 83 per cent of construction has been completed.
The major hurdle is the unavailability of workers as many of them have gone to their native places during the lockdown period and shortage of red earth in filling the stretch. Unlike other road development works, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is developing the 16.3-kilometre stretch as a new road connecting Tamil Nadu. The contractor, L&T Construction, is developing the remaining part of the stretch in Tamil Nadu too extending till Kanyakumari. The NHAI had to change the deadline for completion several times and the last was set on May 31, 2020.
According to P Pradeep, NHAI project director, the construction will not finish in September as many works are pending, including a major bridge at Kanjiramkulam and landfilling at Kottukal, Thirupuram and Vlathankara on the stretch. “We cannot give a new deadline now. We had planned to complete the project by May this year but the lockdown and the subsequent exodus of workers adversely affected the works. Though the works resumed last month, they are progressing at a slow pace due to the limited workforce and delay in procuring red earth. The onset of monsoon has also played spoilsport. However, we are going ahead with the work to commission the stretch till the state border at least by October or November this year,” Pradeep said.
The road widening project was started in July 2017. In addition to various underpasses and flyovers, one major bridge has also been constructed across the Neyyar river near Neyyattinkara. Meanwhile, NHAI authorities are also planning to construct a new bridge at Thiruvallam at Reach 1 of NH bypass from Kazhakoottam to Kovalam after demolishing the old one.