Key stakeholders have expressed outrage at the proposal to hew out a 46-km alternative NH Bypass between Angamaly and Kundannur being kept in cold storage.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has halted all ground-level work to realise the six-lane, access-controlled stretch that was mooted to decongest the Edappally-Aroor NH 66 Bypass and NH 66 for want of clear directions from its head office.
A year ago, its officials were hopeful that land acquisition would begin in December 2018 and would be completed by the end of 2019. Contrary to expectations, the project has not made it to the Priority One list of the NHAI, which implies that the stalemate will most likely continue till 2021.
The alternative bypass was mooted since an average of over 1 lakh passenger car units (PCUs) cross several junctions on the 16-km Edappally-Aroor NH 66 Bypass and the Edappally-Angamaly NH 66 corridor every day. “The congested, predominantly four-lane bypass cannot handle more vehicles even if two more lanes are added to widen it to six-lane. It needs at least eight-lane width to cater to the present level of traffic. This is next to impossible since buildings have come up on either side,” reliable sources said.
Hibi Eden, the newly-elected MP from Ernakulam, said he would raise a submission in the Lok Sabha seeking the inclusion of the project in the NHAI’s Priority One list. “I will also apprise the agency of the urgent need to decongest the NH Bypass and other city roads by developing alternative roads,” he added.
The NHAI must adopt a clear stand on national highway development in the State and allot funds as promised to lessen congestion and accidents on narrow NH corridors, said Thripunithura MLA M. Swaraj.
“It will speed up preparatory work and execution of the proposed NH Bypass, which will decongest several roads in the city and those in its eastern suburbs.
“The widening of the Kochi-Madurai NH too is in a stalemate for decades due to inadequate funding,” he said.
Thripunithura
The Thripuntihura Rajanagari Union of Residents’ Associations (TRURA) has sought the fast-tracking of the new corridor since it will also decongest Thripunithura and usher in development of towns located east of Kochi. The NHAI must fast-track the project and ensure adequate funding, said TRURA convenor V.C. Jayendran.
“The Kochi metro’s Pettah-SN Junction extension is scheduled to be completed by December 2021, while its extension up to the railway station will follow suit in a year or two. This will increase manifold the number of commuters passing through Thripunithura and adjoining towns which have narrow roads,” he added.
The Thripunithura bypass proposal has been hanging fire for the past three decades.
The proposed bypass is in sync with another long-pending proposal to extend Seaport-Airport Road up to Angamaly in the north and Kundannur in the south, Mr. Jayendran said.
Short-term measures
Expressing shock at the state of affairs on the Aroor-Edappally NH Bypass, Thrikkakara MLA P.T. Thomas called upon the NHAI and its contracting agency, which collects toll and is duty-bound to maintain the stretch, to clear encroachments and curb haphazard parking on service roads.
“This in itself will smoothen the flow of vehicles from side roads which join the bypass. Project directors of the NHAI must exercise their quasi-judicial powers in this regard,” he said.
The uncertainty over the fate of the alternative NH Bypass might even hamper the project to widen and extend Thammanam-Pullepady Road to realise the much-awaited MG Road - Thammanam - Chakkaraparambu - Arakkakadavu - Infopark - Government Medical College Road, Mr. Thomas added.
He called upon the State and Centre to get their act together to speed up the development of highways in the State.
Work on the alternative NH Bypass got an impetus in February 2018 following a presentation by its DPR consultant Louis Berger before District Collector K. Mohammed Y. Safirulla and five MLAs.
Here, three alignments were presented. The alignment beginning 2 km north of Angamaly on NH 66 and ending 1.5 km south of Kundannoor on NH 66 Bypass, passing through Perumbavoor and Thripunithura was shortlisted since it would have caused least dislocation of people.
“The presentation was specially arranged to take government officials and people’s representatives on board since land acquisition is much tougher in Kerala than in other States. Following this, a general manager from the head office visited the proposed route to get a first-hand idea of the stretch,” official sources said.
The shortlisted alignment was preferred by those who attended the meeting based on its engineering, social and environmental aspects. Alignments near Kochi and another one further away from the city were dropped as the areas were found to be densely populated.
The shortlisted alignment is 13 km longer than the congested 33-km Angamaly-Kundannoor national highway corridor. But it would have a design speed of 100 km per hour. The consultant had suggested two rail overbridges and eight flyovers en route.
Onus on NHAI head office
Reliable sources said the presentation made before MLAs and the Collector and subsequent shortlisting of the most feasible alignment was only an intermediate step. The NHAI head office must approve the alignment and give the go-ahead for land acquisition.
The NHAI is peeved at the relatively higher cost of land acquisition in the State. But such delays will only lead to further cost escalation, they added.
The project is important to keep away inter-State and inter-district vehicles, including goods carriers, from the Edappally-Aroor National Highway Bypass and other city roads.