KOCHI: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has decided to put the 14.64-km-long Edappally-Aroor six-lane elevated highway project on hold. Replying to Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden’s question on the status of the project, Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari informed the Lok Sabha that the National Highways Authority will take up the Angamaly-Aroor bypass project to address the traffic congestion on the Angamaly-Edappally-Kundanoor stretch of NH 66.
“I had an unofficial discussion with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and I tried to convince him about the importance of Aroor - Edappally stretch which is the most congested traffic corridor in the state. As the road from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram reaches Edappally, the six-lane highway shrinks to four-lane which leads to congestion.
Besides it is a major intersection where National Highway 66, coastal highway, merges with NH 544. This makes the Edappally - Aroor stretch the most congested corridor in the state. The minister said the NHAI is prioritising completion of the existing projects and new projects will be considered only after commissioning the current projects,” said Hibi Eden.
“We had proposed the six-lane elevated highway as land acquisition is not possible on the Edappally-Aroor stretch due to the presence of huge projects like malls and flats on either side of the stretch. We had engaged an agency to prepare the detailed project report for the elevated highway. But the agency abandoned the project half way.
The main challenge for the elevated highway is the intersection of Kochi Metro line at Palarivattam and Vyttila. I have taken up the issue with Chief Minister V D Satheesan, who has assured to recommend the elevated highway as a priority project considering its importance,” he said.
Replying to Hibi Eden, Nitin Gadkari said the decision for project implementation and investment is taken based on the outcome of DPR and compliance with the policy for decongestion of urban areas. “The existing 4-lane carriageway on Aroor–Edappally stretch of NH-66 accommodates Kochi Metro Corridor.
In order to address the traffic congestion on this stretch, which passes through busy locations such as Angamaly, Aluva, Kalamassery, Edappally, Palarivattom, Vyttila and Kundannoor in Ernakulam district, work on DPR for Ernakulam Bypass (Kochi Outer Ring Road) has been awarded, connecting Angamaly (near Kochi Airport) and Aroor. The alignment of the said project was approved in the meeting of the Alignment Approval Committee (AAC),” Gadkari said.
The Angamaly-Aroor Bypass greenfield highway project with port connectivity has been approved by the Union government. As per the new alignment, the bypass starts at Angamaly and connects to Aroor-Thuravoor elevated corridor on NH 66.
The revised 49.5-km-long alignment, which avoids major urban hubs, was considered and approved by the Alignment Appraisal Committee in June. The 3A notification to commence the land acquisition process is set to be reissued in August.
project details
14.6-km Edappally-Aroor Six lane elevated highway project put on hold
Most congested traffic corridor in state
NHAI prioritises completion of existing projects
Kochi Metro intersection at Palarivattom and Vyttila major hurdles.
49.5 -km Angamaly - Aroor eight-lane greenfield highway will help decongest Angamaly - Edappally - Aroor stretch
Work on preparation of DPR for Angamaly - Aroor Bypass with Port connectivity awarded
Land acquisition to start soon
