NH-66 widening project to be completed in December this year: P.A. Mohamed Riyas

Minister announces completion of NH-66 widening and progress on Hill and Coastal Highway projects in Kerala.

Minister for Public Works P.A. Mohamed Riyas said here on Friday that the widening of the National Highway (NH)-66 stretch from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram into a six-lane facility will be completed in December this year.

Mr. Riyas was presiding over the inauguration, held at Manaveeyam Veedhi, of over 50 roads constructed by the Public Works department (PWD) in different districts and the 12 smart roads in Thiruvananthapuram city developed under the Smart City project.

Mr. Riyas said that 166 km of the proposed 1,166 km Hill Highway has been completed. 793 km of this project are being funded through the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB). Work on 315 km is under way, he said.

Three reaches of the nearly 600-km Coastal Highway project have been completed, Mr. Riyas said. The roads inaugurated on Friday, including the 12 Smart City roads, have been constructed using Bituminous Macadam and Bituminous Concrete (BM and BC) technology, he said. The Left Democratic Front (LDF) government has been able to develop 15,000 km of the PWD roads using this technology in three-and-a-half years, he said. By 2026, 65% of the roads in Kerala will be developed using BM and BC technology, according to Mr. Riyas.

Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty formally inaugurated the completed PWD roads and the smart roads. These roads serve to link people and speed up development, Mr. Sivankutty said. The smart roads, developed by the Kerala Road Fund Board, have underground ducts for utilities, tiled footpaths, rebuilt sewerage lines and cycle tracks. They also have special chambers that allow repairs to be carried out without digging up the roads.

Ministers G.R. Anil and A.K. Saseendran, Mayor Arya Rajendran, and MLAs Antony Raju, V.K. Prasanth and V. Joy were also present.