NHAI tells consultant to revise DPR for elevated highway on Aroor-Edappally NH stretch

NHAI directs consultancy firm to revise DPR for elevated highway on Aroor-Edappally NH 66 corridor, working with Kochi Metro.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has directed the Bhopal-based consultancy firm that was preparing the detailed project report (DPR) for the elevated highway on the 17-km-long Aroor-Edappally NH 66 corridor to revise the report, after taking into account the vertical clearance for the metro viaduct that has been proposed at Palarivattom Bypass Junction, it is learnt.

While making the revision, the firm would have to work in tandem with Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) to finalise the design of the six-lane elevated highway corridor that would crisscross the proposed Kochi metro viaduct at the Palarivattom Bypass junction, sources said. Piling is currently on at the junction for the viaduct that is being built as part of the metro’s Kakkanad extension.

Even though the vertical clearance at the junction for the elevated highway is yet to be finalised, it had been decided earlier to build the proposed elevated highway parallel to the flyovers at Palarivattom, Vyttila, and Kundannur junctions. The metro viaduct would hover over the flyover and the proposed elevated highway. “In addition, it has been decided to construct the elevated highway parallel to the Kumbalam-Aroor bridge. The revised DPR is expected to be finalised shortly,” the sources added.

The largely four-lane, 17-km-long Edappally-Aroor corridor is the sole stretch on the 609-km-long Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod NH 66 corridor where highway expansion work has yet to begin. This is despite it being the busiest stretch on the national highway, which caters for a whopping over one lakh passenger car units (PCUs) per day. Commuters, NGOs, and residents’ groups like the Ernakulam District Residents Associations’ Apex Council (EDRAAC) have repeatedly expressed concern that the stretch is going to become a major traffic bottleneck on NH 66 when the rest of the highway is widened to a minimum six-lane width.

Official sources said the proposed elevated highway, which is estimated to cost ₹3,600 crore, would in all probability be a continuation of the 13-km-long elevated highway that is being built in the Aroor-Thuravur NH corridor in Alappuzha. This would ultimately make it a 30-km-long elevated highway with ramps for vehicles wanting to leave the elevated structure at select locations like Vyttila and Madavana. As of now, 55% of the work on the Aroor-Thuravur elevated highway is over, while 75% of the work will be completed by August. This elevated stretch is expected to be opened to vehicles in February 2026, they added.

In the meantime, Hibi Eden, Ernakulam MP, has directed Highway Engineering Consultants Limited, the Bhopal-based consultancy firm that had been tasked with readying the DPR of the Edappally-Aroor elevated highway, to submit the revised DPR within a month. Mr. Eden had, in February, apprised NHAI chairman Santosh Kumar Yadav of the inordinate delay in finalising the project’s DPR, citing how the 17-km national highway stretch was the busiest and the most congested in Kerala. Land acquisition for the proposed elevated highway would be minimal and would be limited to a few junctions, he said.

The consultant would also have to propose revisions, if any, on the proposal to build the elevated highway parallel to the Palarivattom flyover, Mr. Eden added.