The prolonged delay in restoring the trenched Nandanath Kochacko Road, which links the NH Bypass with the Thammanam-Pullepady Road, is forcing commuters to take longer routes via the congested SA Road.
| Photo Credit: H. VIBHU
The long-overdue digital survey for the three-decade-old project to augment east-west connectivity in the city by widening and extending the Thammanam-Pullepady Road has begun.
The project aims to construct a 3.7-km-long four-lane road linking MG Road with the Edappally-Vyttila NH 66 Bypass, through Pullepady and Thammanam.
After an initial delay, the digital survey began on Thursday (July 2). “Its completion is crucial to take forward the land acquisition process for the road corridor, which would decongest both SA Road and Banerjee Road,” said T.J. Vinod, Ernakulam MLA, who recently demanded in the Legislative Assembly that the land acquisition process for the project be expedited.
The road corridor was included in the list of Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) projects in 2017, following which the Kerala Road Fund Board (KRFB) took over the project from the Kochi Corporation. The then State government subsequently accorded administrative sanction of ₹100 crore. “Prior to that, 83 landowners had voluntarily surrendered 2.53 acres of land in 1998 to facilitate the speedy implementation of the project.
This was followed by the then UDF-led State government sanctioning ₹25 crore over a decade ago, using which much of the Katrikadavu-Stadium Link Road corridor was widened to four lanes. Another nine acres of land have to be acquired from around 500 landowners for the widening of the Thammanam-Pullepady Road to four lanes and for extending the corridor to MG Road and the NH Bypass. Completion of the digital survey is crucial for issuing the 11(1) and 19(1) notifications, following which compensation can be disbursed to landowners and possession of the land can be taken,” Mr. Vinod added.
Potholed road
Even as the project remains delayed, the trenched but improperly restored Nandanath Kochacko Road, which links the NH Bypass with Thammanam, has created fresh difficulties for motorists and pedestrians. This is in addition to the potholes on the rest of the corridor.
Expressing concern over the prolonged delay in widening the Thammanam-Pullepady Road and extending it on both sides, Ranjith Thampy, a social activist and resident of Pullepady, urged people’s representatives to jointly and proactively pursue the matter with the State government to secure timely sanctions and funds.
“Once completed, the road will significantly decongest the city, where people now fear travelling because of serpentine traffic snarls. At the same time, the stakeholders concerned should consider constructing a flyover at Katrikadavu. They must also plan the widening of Padma Junction on MG Road and Chakkaraparambu Junction on the NH Bypass, where traffic from the new road will converge,” he said.
Published – July 06, 2026 12:56 am IST
