Kerala’s hill highway and coastal highway projects: Everything you need to know

A road coursing through Munnar hill station in Idukki district of Kerala (Thinkstock photo)

The hill highway project in Kerala is a proposed 1251-km highway that will traverse through the state’s hill-ranges connecting 13 of the 14 districts. The highway will begin from Nandarappadavu in Kasaragod district and conclude at Parassala in Thiruvananthapuram in the southern part. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has set a 2019 deadline for the project, work for which has not started yet.

The project first took shape during the previous Congress government led by Oommen Chandy although little progress was made in the subsequent years. The Detailed Project Report (DPR) has only been prepared for stretches in Kannur and Kasaragode districts.

However, the present government led by the CPM has now given an in-principle nod to the project. The National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC) has prepared the road alignment for the project. The state has allocated Rs 3500 crore for the highway from the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB).

“The Hill highway will help in speedier & easy access to hill stations leading to further development of the Tourism sector in Kerala,” said Vijayan in a tweet. The government also hopes to bring about more inter-state traffic through the highway and better access for the forest department in future. Tribals living in hilly areas will also be benefited from the project.

According to reports, the recommended width of the highway will be 12 metres although, in areas where land allocation will be difficult, the overall width could come down to 8 metres. Parallel lines of the highway will pass through Kozhikode and Wayanad districts when passing from Kannur to Kozhikode. Some of the districts that will have upwards of 100 kms of the highway are Palakkad, Kasarakode, Idukki, Malappuram and Kozhikode.

Coastal highway project

The second big infrastructure project pending before the present government is the proposed coastal highway that will make transportation access easier for vehicles passing through the state’s coast. The 656-km highway will make its way through nine districts and is being planned at a cost of Rs 6500 crore. It will begin at Poovar in Thiruvananthapuram district and end at Kunjathoor in Kasarakode district. The deadline for the project is 2020.

The coastal highway will ensure easy connectivity to ports such as Vallarpadam, Vizhinjam and Kollam. Easy cargo movement and fisheries development are the stated aims of the project. With the introduction of the state highway, congestion on the national highway can be reduced. Land acquisition works are ongoing at the moment.