Construction of NH 66 will be completed by March, will be inaugurated before Model Code of Conduct comes into force

NEW DELHI: Construction of National Highway 66 in Kerala will be completed by March. Officials have been instructed to speed up work, except in a few stretches where there are obstacles. Efforts are being made to inaugurate the highway before the Model Code of Conduct for the Assembly elections comes into force. It was Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari who informed the Lok Sabha about this in response to a query by KC Venugopal.

Gadkari said high-quality cement and concrete will be used to ensure that the highway does not develop defects. Steps will be taken to prevent the repetition of earlier flaws.

Kerala Minister PA Mohammed Riyas had earlier announced in Delhi that the highway would be completed in January and that Gadkari would visit Kerala to make the announcement. However, the collapse of the highway at three locations within six months became a major setback.

Gadkari said continuous rainfall in Kerala and the lack of space have affected construction work. He was responding after Venugopal pointed out the poor condition of service roads. Heavy rain led to repeated landslides, while densely populated areas on both sides of the highway made service road construction difficult. Traffic management was also affected.

Elevated roads on pillars In the wake of accidents in Malappuram and Kollam, the Centre has decided to build elevated concrete roads on pillars instead of earth-filled retaining walls along NH 66. Gadkari said this in the Lok Sabha while replying to a question by NK Premachandran.

No need to stop at toll plazas

• The Union Minister also announced that a satellite camera-based electronic toll collection system will be introduced within a year.
• Vehicles travelling at speeds of up to 80 kmph will not have to stop at toll plazas
• Long queues at toll gates will be eliminated
• The government expects to save fuel worth Rs 1,500 crore due to the removal of queues
• Satellite cameras will capture images of vehicle number plates and FASTag stickers and deduct toll charges directly from linked accounts
• A unified platform called the National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) system has been developed for toll transactions