Rs. 10,000 crore highways project to be kick started in November: Representational image.Thiruvananthapuram: Giving a major boost to Kerala’s transport infrastructure, the state government has given its green signal to start works on the two ambitious road infrastructure projects, coastal highway and hill highway, on November 1.
The deadline for completion of the projects, estimated to cost a total of Rs 10,000 crore, is 2021.
Mandatory norms prior to the construction works, such as total station survey and soil investigation, are already under way.
The work on the 657 km coastal highway will begin simultaneously at Alappuzha and Thiruvananthapuram districts, while construction work of the 1,267-km hill highway will be launched in Kasaragod and Kannur districts.
The road alignment for the hill corridor was prepared by the National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (Natpac), while the same for the coastal highway was done by the Public Works Department.
The soil survey being undertaken by Natpac will be completed by the month end.
The recommended width of both highways is 12 meters; that include a two-line 7-meter carriageway, divider and walkaways on both sides. However, in areas where land acquisition will be a problem, the total width could be limited to eight meters.
Funds from the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) will be utilized for the project. The government is confident that an amount of Rs 2,500 crore could be mobilized through KIIFB in a year’s time.
The coastal highway will traverse through Kollam, Alappuzha, Ernakulum, Thrissur, Malappuram, Kozhikode, and Kannur districts and stretch across 657 kilometers, from Poovar in Thiruvananthapuram to Kunjathoor in Kasaragod.
The project will include a 28-km long road, four railway over bridges and 14 other bridges.
The hill highway will pass through all the districts except Alappuzha and will stretch across 1,267 kilometers, from Nandarapppadavu in Kasaragod to Parasala in Thiruvananthapuram. The project has an estimated cost layout of Rs 3,500 crore across a total of 650 kilometers of roads.
The first phase of the works will cover Kasaragod, Wayanad, Malappuram, Palakkad, Thrissur, Ernakulum, Idukki, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram districts.
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