THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Work on the NH66 stretch from Kadampattukonam to Kazhakoottam continues to progress at a snail’s pace, making it one of the most delayed national highway corridors in the state.
With only around 50% of the work completed so far, the stretch connecting the northern districts to Thirivananthapuram city is causing huge inconvenience to commuters.
Repeated delays have pushed the project far behind schedule while the Kollam Bypass to Kadampattukonam achieved 94.2% completion.
The onset of the southwest monsoon is expected to slow down construction activities further.
Admitting that there has been a delay, a senior official with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) said: “The progress of the work has been affected by contract-related issues.
The contractor who took up the project proved a non-performer and hence we had to sub-contract the work to another contractor to avoid delays. Blacklisting the non-performing contractor was not at all an option as such a decision would have caused more delays,” the official said.
The rains have added to the slowness of the work, the official said.
“Once the rainy season is over, the project will make more visible progress. During the monsoon season, there are difficulties in obtaining permission for earthwork and sourcing soil from nearby areas,” the official said.
According to the NHAI, the project took off late compared to other NH66 corridors.
“This particular work began nearly a year after the Kollam-Ochira stretch. Work on the main carriageway is currently on, after the completion of which work on the service roads will be taken up. There are around seven bridges along the 30km stretch. Girder installation on the bridges also remain,” the official said.
While the corridor is expected to be completed by March 2027, the delay in the work is causing inconvenience to commuters travelling along one of the busiest corridors in the state capital. Traffic snarl-ups, waterlogging, incomplete sections, and ongoing construction activities are making life difficult for commuters during peak hours amid rains.
