Kuthiran to become only largest road tunnel in Kerala; new tunnel to be built on national highway between Thenmala and Aryankavu

KOLLAM: The largest road tunnel in Kerala will be built on the national highway between Thenmala and Aryankavu in Kollam district. This is on the proposed Kadampattukonam-Shenkottai Greenfield Highway. There will be four tunnels in Kottavasal, Edapalayam, Kazhuthurutty and Thenmala hills. Two of the tunnels will be more than three kilometers long. Currently, the largest tunnel is Kuthiran on the Thrissur-Palakkad route.

The tunnels will come after the Greenfield Highway, which starts from Kadampattukonam on the Thiruvananthapuram-Kollam border, crosses the Kollam-Shenkottai railway line near the Aryankavu railway station. The length of the tunnels will be finalized once the design is ready within three months. Land acquisition is in progress at Kadampattukonam-Edamon.

Tunnel 30 meters wide, four lanes

• The Kadampattukonam-Senkottai Greenfield Highway is being built with four lanes and a width of 45 meters. However, in forest areas, it will be four lanes and a width of 30 meters. The tunnels will also be four lanes and a width of 30 meters.
• Whether to build double tunnels with two lanes each or a single tunnel with a width of 30 meters is being evaluated.

Total length of the four tunnels: 9.70 km

Two tunnels between Thenmala and Aryankavu: 3 km more

Remaining two tunnels: About 1.5 km

Kuthiran which is the largest tunnel: 1.6 km

“The technical study of the Edamon-Aryankavu reach should be completed and the permission of the Forest and Wildlife Departments and the Railways should be obtained. The process for this is in full swing.”

-N.K. Premachandran MP