After months of stalemate, the National Highways Authority of India has revived bypass projects for Muvattupuzha and Kothamangalam — two towns that have become synonymous with NH-85 gridlock. The revised plan targets construction to begin by September, with an aggressive one-year completion deadline. The move acknowledges a hard truth: the original 2023 approval collapsed not under technical complexity, but under the weight of land acquisition delays.
A national highways official confirmed that the earlier alignment has been shelved. The 3(A) notification issued in December 2023 led nowhere as landholders and authorities failed to reach consensus. Now, the authority is restarting from scratch — beginning with a new alignment designed to minimise land requirements while retaining room for future expansion. Each bypass will be a two-lane road with paved shoulders, totalling 12 metres in width. However, the authority plans to acquire a wider 25–30 metre corridor to accommodate service roads, drainage, and pedestrian pathways. The combined length of both bypasses is approximately 15 kilometres. For Muvattupuzha, where traffic from multiple districts converges into severe bottlenecks, the relief cannot come soon enough. For Kothamangalam, the bypass offers a chance to reclaim local streets from through-traffic that currently chokes markets and school zones.
Urban infrastructure analysts note that the project’s success hinges on two variables: land acquisition speed and environmental clearance. Parts of the broader NH-85 Kochi–Munnar upgrade remain stalled pending green nods. A bypass built in one year means nothing if connecting stretches remain mired in litigation or forest clearance delays. The design itself reflects a quiet shift in highway philosophy. By acquiring extra width for drainage and pedestrian infrastructure, the authority is acknowledging that highways cut through inhabited landscapes — not empty terrain. For residents of Muvattupuzha, who currently breathe exhaust fumes while stuck in junction traffic, the bypass represents more than travel time savings. It is a health intervention.
Yet questions linger. The selected contractor will have four months to prepare a detailed project report after tenders are issued. That timeline, followed by land acquisition and then construction, leaves little room for the inevitable delays that plague Kerala infrastructure. The authority has set a September start target. Whether the state’s land machinery can move faster than the previous attempt — which failed entirely — will determine if this revival becomes a model or another cautionary tale.
NHAI Revives Muvattupuzha Bypass With One Year Deadline
