Six-lane National Highway: Rs 5,539 crore allotted for two reaches

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Central Government has sanctioned Rs 5539.88 crore to the construction of two reaches as part of six-lane National Highway. An amount of Rs 2,704.64 crore was sanctioned for the section from Parippally Kadampattukonam to Kollam Bypass and Rs 2,835.24 crore for the section from Bypass to Kayamkulam Kottamkulangara. New bridges will be constructed parallel to the existing bridges.

Work on the six-lane road began two years ago. Land acquisition process has not been completed. The road from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram will be made into six lanes. The construction is divided into several stretches. The state government will be giving Rs 452 crore, which is 25 percent of the cost of land acquisition from Kasaragod.

At a time when land acquisition was hampered, the National Highways Authority withdrew stating that national highways could not be developed in Kerala. The project came to life after discussions with the Prime Minister, including the Chief Minister, and Union Surface Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari. The support of Nitin Gadkari was a blessing for the development of the road. Subsequently, the National Highways Authority finalized the alignment and started land acquisition. Nitin Gadkari tweeted, "The construction of world class roads in Kerala is coming to fruition."