THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The six-laning of the Kazhakkoottam-Paripally stretch of NH 66 near Kadampattukonam at Thiruvananthapuram-Kollam border is likely to begin after two months. Recently, Kochi-based RDS Projects Ltd had won the bid for construction work at a cost of Rs 790 crore.According to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), an agreement will be signed with the company soon and the proceedings will take two months to complete.
“We have issued the letter of acceptance. Now, the contractor needs to submit the performance bank guarantee. Then an agreement will be signed and this process will take at least 30 days for scrutiny and other procedures. Then, we will handover the land to the company and an appointment date will be sent to them for starting the construction.
This process will take another 30 days. So we expect to start the construction of the 29-km-long stretch after two months,” said NHAI project director P Pradeep. However, the construction will not be a cakewalk for the contractor as the monsoon season will start in two months and the land acquisition for the stretch is not completed.
The NHAI could not vacate the stay order secured by the authorities of Thiruvarattukavu Devi temple at Attingal so far. Acquiring 45 cents belonging to the temple, which is essential for the construction of the 12-km-long Attingal bypass, is the lone remaining hurdle for the implementation of the project.
Though the NHAI filed a review petition in the High Court against the stay order, nothing positive has happened in that regard. The Kazhakkoottam-Parippally stretch is slated to be widened to 45m to facilitate the six-lane traffic. There will be service roads on either side and proper road safety measures will be put in place, as mandated by the Indian Road Congress.A toll booth will be set up like the one on the Kazhakootam-Kovalam stretch.
Once the road is widened, the travel time from Kollam to Thiruvananthapuram, which normally takes 90 to 105 minutes during peak hours, will be reduced by 20 to 30 minutes.The NHAI had called the e-tender on October 25, 2021. The last date to submit technical and financial bids was December 9, which was later extended to January 18.
The Kazhakkoottam-Parippally project has been conceived so that the NH deviates from Mamom Junction to a bypass road.From there, long-distance travellers need not touch Attingal town, a major traffic bottleneck. They will rejoin the main road at Ayamkonam near Kallambalam.