Thiruvananthapuram: Only four out of 24 projects which are part of the National Highway 66 development programme have been completed in the state.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had begun work on 24 projects under various reaches on the highway that links Talapady in Kasaragod district to Karode in Thiruvananthapuram. Of these projects, only the Edappally-Vyttila-Aroor section (16.75 km), Kazhakuttam-Mukkola bypass (24.998 km), Mukkola-Karode bypass (16.202 km), and the elevated four-lane highway from the Kazhakuttam Junction to Technopark Junction (2.721 km) have been completed and opened to traffic.

In two of the remaining projects, the work has been completed by over 90%, while it is over 80% in one project, with the work in all the rest of the reaches remaining below 50%. In the majority of the projects that were intended to be completely opened to traffic in 2026, the construction has reached only below 20%.

Lack of sand and stones cited

The National Highways Authority of India says that the delay in the work is caused by a shortage in the availability of sand and stones. The Union Minister for Surface Transport, Nitin Gadkari, was requested to permit the mining of the necessary sand and stones from lands belonging to the state government. Following this, the NHAI wrote a letter to the state government putting forward this demand. But the file is still under consideration by the Revenue Department.

NH 66 development works and their progress

The projects, the respective amount allocated for the project, the amount spent (in crores of rupees), and the percentage of work completed are listed below:

• Thalassery to Mahi four-lane bypass (18 km) -  1,503.86, 1,261.14, 93.47%
• Four-lane Railway overbridge at Nileshwaram (Pallikkara railway gate -  0.78 km) -  55.79, 54.20, 99.40%
• Four-lane bridges at Paloli and Moorad (2.1 km) - 213.06, 171.73, 82.05%.
• Talapady to Chengala six-lane road (39 km) – 1,704.124, 429.15, 48.45%
• Chengala to Nileshwaram six-lane road (37.268 km) -  1,799, 337.98, 36.24%
• Nileshwaram to Taliparamba six-lane road (40.11 km) – 2,251, 301.93, 25.50%
• Taliparamba to Muzhippilangad six-lane road (29.948 km) – 2,038, 358.28, 30.11%
• Azhiyoor to Vengalam six-lane road (40.8 km) – 3,713.14, 1,910.87, 28.12% 
• Vengalam Junction to Ramanattukara six-lane bypass development (28.4 km) – 1,862.77, 465.9, 45%
• Ramanattukara to Valanchery six-lane road (39.68 km) – 4,708.42, 2,815.44, 35.21%
• Valanchery to Kaprikkad six-lane road (37.35 km) – 3,790.17, 1,742.60, 40.7%
• Kaprikkad to Thalikualm six-lane road (33.17 km) – 3,923.8, 2,785.32, 14.99%
• Thalikulam to Kodungallur six-line road (28.84 km) – 3,994.60. 2686.49, 12.52%
• Kodungallur to Edappally six-lane road (26.03 km) – 3,119.94, 1,650.40, 12.35%
• Aroor to Thuravur six-lane elevated highway (12.75 km) – 1,670.06, 1.38, 1.73%
• Thuravur South to Paravur six-lane road (37.9 km) – 2,638.67, 1,521.67, 11.30%
• Paravur to Kottukulangara six-lane road (37.5 km) – 3,175.85, 1,929.72, 8.7%
• Six-lane highway till the beginning of the Kottankulangara-Kollam bypass (31.5 km) – 1,580, 117.96, 16.54%
• Kollam bypass to Kadambattukonam six-lane road (31.25 km) – 1,385, 138.53, 18.57%
• Kadambattukonam to Kazhakuttam six-lane road (29.83 km) – 795, 75.12, 12.27%