Work on widening Thokkottu-Chembugudde stretch of Thokkottu-Mudipu SH begins

PWD is four-laning bottleneck road on Thokkottu-Mudipu State Highway 300 to ease traffic flow, costing ₹25 crore.

The Public Works Department (PWD) has commenced work on four-laning the 600-metre bottleneck road that had been holding up traffic on the busy Thokkottu-Mudipu State Highway 300 near Thokkottu bus stand.

While about 200-metre stretch from Thokkottu junction to the bus stand exit would have a 11-metre wide carriageway with median on either side, the 400-metre stretch from bus stand exit to Chembugudde would have 7.6-metre wide carriageway on either sides with median, said a senior PWD engineer.

The stretches would also have 560-metre concrete retaining wall as the widening involves hill cutting on the adjacent stretches. Concrete shoulder drains would be constructed for a length of 1197 metre along the stretch.

Along with eliminating the bottleneck, the PWD has also undertaken widening of the 800-metre stretch of the highway to four lane with each lane being 7.6-metre wide from Assaigoli to Nadupadavu, towards Konaje. The total estimated cost of highway widening, including construction of retaining walls, road furniture, parking bays and other facilities, was estimated to cost ₹25 crore.

Massive bottleneck

With the road just 7-metre wide, the stretch from Thokkottu bus stand to Chembugudde has been a massive bottleneck holding up vehicular movement. Vehicles used to take 10-15 minutes to negotiate the stretch, particularly during peak hours. The highway has been the lifeline of the education corridor, Thokkottu-Deralakatte-Konaje, where a number of professional colleges and hospitals are functional.

Easing traffic flow