Kazhakoottam elevated highway project work to resume next week

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the Central and the state governments allowing the resumption of the construction works that were stalled due to lockdown, the key infrastructure projects in the district have got a lease of life. The work of the second phase of NH66 Kazhakoottam elevated highway as well as the Karamana- Kaliyikkavila road project is all set to begin next week as the district is most likely to get lockdown relaxations from the Centre as it falls under the Zone 3 category. But unless the shortage of labour is solved, works cannot be started in full throttle. 

As per the information available from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and state PWD, the works will be restarted next week with the available workforce. According to P Pradeep, Project Director, NHAI, minor works of Kazhakoottam elevated highway have already begun with a few workers and more workers will be made available next week. He also said that the labourers involved in the construction of NH 66 works from Mukkola to Karode are still in the camps here and they have been directed to be present at the workplace from next week.

“As of now, there is not much shortage of workers. So, we are ready to begin the work with the labourers and we expect to finish the project as early as possible. We have only one month left before the monsoon sets in. We lost a month due to lockdown and we need to compensate that as well. Though the deadline of the second phase NH 66 ends on May 31, we had to extend it due to the current scenario. However, we can assure the works will be done at a fast pace,” Pradeep said.

He also said that 80 per cent work between Mukkola and Karode has been completed and the remaining 20 per cent is getting delayed due to the pending approval from the Geology Department for mobilising red earth for filling purpose. “At present, many areas on the stretch need to be filled by at least 15 to 20 feet due to the uneven surface. So we need a large amount of soil. We hope that we get the approval also in the same period to ensure a speedy completion,” Pradeep added.

The 16.3-km stretch, which is touted to be the first concrete road in Kerala, was set to be commissioned in May 2020. However, the work, which had started in 2017 without initial hiccups, slowed down over the past five months, owing to the unavailability of construction materials. For the second phase road widening of Karamana- Kaliyikkavila stretch from Pravachambalam to Kodinada in Balaramapuram, the workers need to be transported from Kozhikode as the contractor of the project in ULCCS based in Kozhikode.

Though the inter-district travel is prohibited, the workers are likely to get an exemption. “We hope the work can begin next week. It will be a gradual process due to the present circumstances. However, the work will be restarted soon,” said M Ashok Kumar, Chief Engineer, PWD ( National Highways). The construction works on this stretch gained momentum only from early this year due to various hurdles of land acquisition. Though the deadline of this project is March 2021, the contractor was working hard to complete it this year itself. The one-line tarring has been completed from Balaramapuram to Vedivachankovil and levelling of the road from Pallichal to Pravachambalam needs to be completed.

80% work completed
80 per cent work between Mukkola and Karode has been completed and the remaining 20 per cent is getting delayed due to the pending approval from the Geology Department for mobilising red earth for filling purpose