Edappally-Aroor elevated highway project in Kochi put on hold

Uncertainty looms large about the fate of the 15-km-long elevated highway that was proposed to decongest the Oberon Mall-Aroor stretch on the Edappally-Aroor NH 66 Bypass, with Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nithin Gadkari reportedly informing Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden that the current priority is to widen the rest of the Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod NH 66.

With the detailed project report (DPR) for building the elevated highway reportedly not providing a satisfactory technical solution to how the elevated structure would merge with the flyovers at Palarivattom, Vyttila, and Kundannur, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had earlier this year sought a new DPR for the project.

When contacted by The Hindu, Mr. Eden said the Minister had informed him that the elevated highway project would be considered once the ongoing widening of NH 66 was completed. For all practical purposes, the elevated highway project has been put on hold for now.

“I apprised the Minister of the urgent need to decongest the NH bypass by constructing the elevated highway, considering that the six-laning with service roads of NH 66 northward of Edappally, and the 13-km elevated highway south of Aroor, on the Aroor-Thuravur NH 66 stretch, are fast getting completed. The influx of vehicles from these two NH reaches would thus further choke the largely four-lane Edappally-Aroor NH Bypass, whose width ranged from between 35 metres to 45 metres. I also took up this issue with Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan during his conference with MPs,” Mr. Eden added.