KOCHI: Now travelling to Munnar and other eastern parts of Ernakulam district will be a comfortable experience and cost you less time. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has neared the completion of a long-pending project to upgrade the key 124-km-long Kochi-Munnar NH 85.
While the design speed has been enhanced to 80 kmph, what may provide succour to motorists will be the widening of the highway and the curve straightening carried out to bring down mishaps on the accident-prone corridor. “The stretch witnesses heavy traffic flow to destinations like Muvattupuzha. Previously, the highway had a width of 5.5 to seven metres on many stretches.
The same has now been widened to a minimum 10 metres wherever possible. We’ve completed the upgrading work in 100 km out of the total 124 km. Main focus has been given for curve improvements by shortening the curve angle by widening the portions, and is aimed at reducing mishaps. We aim to complete the project in another six months,” said a senior NHAI official.
The authorities have also cleared all encroachments in the entire 124-km corridor.
The works remaining are in the 12-km-long Neriyamangalam-Adimali section, which mainly passes through the forest area. “We’ve got the approval of the forest department, and started the tree-cutting activities on the stretch. Also the work of the only major bridge in the corridor at Neriyamangalam is progressing. The sub-structure on one side has been completed and the one on the forest side is pending ,” the official said.
The Rs 910-crore project, sanctioned in December 2022, mainly involves the widening of the two-lane NH corridor from Kochi (Kundannur) to Munnar. However, the widening couldn’t be carried out in the small heavily congested Thiruvankulam-Tripunithura section due to non-availability of land. The work also includes paved shoulders and retention walls along the stretch to prevent landslides.
“We’re widening the entire hill road to 10 metres. Landslips frequently occur in these regions and to prevent the same, we’re constructing a retaining wall for 40 kms, and breast wall for 51 kms,” the NHAI official pointed out. Besides, a total of 45 culverts along the corridor have been reconstructed at a cost of Rs 50 crore. The completion of the Kochi-Munnar NH-85 upgrading project is likely to boost tourism. A four-lane Greenfield National Highway (NH) in the Kochi-Munnar-Theni corridor, extending 151 km, is being planned.
Culvert work near Statue Jn nearing completion
Meanwhile, the much-delayed construction of a culvert near the Statue Junction along NH 85 is nearing completion. The work, which started over three years ago, resulted in frequent traffic jams at the entrance to the Tripunithura Mini Bypass Junction, creating headache to commuters and sparking multiple protests by residents.
“Now the work has almost been completed and interlocking tiles have been laid,” the NHAI official said.
The issue began nearly three years ago when a pothole on one side of NH 85 gradually developed into a big crater. Below this section ran a narrow canal built around 60 years ago as part of a temporary road by Cochin Refinery.
As the canal eroded, the earth began to cave in, rendering part of the road unusable and leading to numerous accidents, especially involving two-wheelers.
“The pit formed after a segment of the old canal collapsed. It grew over time, making part of the road hazardous. Several accidents occurred as unsuspecting two-wheeler riders fell into the pit while negotiating the turn,” said A B Sabu, a local resident and former chairman of the Kochi Corporation’s standing committee, now working as an executive engineer with the Greater Cochin
Development Authority (GCDA). Construction of a 21-metre-long culvert resumed nearly ten months ago, with work divided into three phases of 7 metres each.