The Aroor-Thuravoor elevated highway on National Highway 66 will not open to traffic this year after the National Highways Authority of India abandoned its expectation of inaugurating the project in December, according to a report by Kerala Kaumudi. The delay is linked to a design and traffic-management issue at the section ending near Thuravoor junction.
The elevated road was expected to be ready for traffic by December, but authorities have now identified a problem where the six-lane carriageway descends in front of the Thuravoor Mahadeva Temple. The assessment is that the junction, which already experiences heavy traffic congestion, may not be able to handle the additional vehicle movement generated by the descent of the elevated road.
Under the revised plan, the elevated highway will touch the ground about 150 metres farther ahead. Six additional spans will have to be installed for this change. The work is expected to require at least five months, making an opening within the current year impossible, the report said.
The elevated structure itself is reported to be nearly complete. Work remaining at the Aroor and Thuravoor ends mainly involves approach roads connecting the elevated section to the roads below. Load testing of the elevated highway is also expected to begin shortly. Three ramps, located at Aroor, Thuravoor and Eramalloor, will provide access for vehicles entering and leaving the elevated road, and work on these ramps has been completed.
The Aroor-Thuravoor project is part of the six-lane National Highway 66 expansion in Kerala. The elevated section was originally scheduled to be completed and handed over to the National Highways Authority of India by February. The overall project has faced delays after landslides in several locations required reconstruction, according to the report.
The Aroor-Thuravoor structure is being built on single pillars and is described in the report as the country’s longest six-lane elevated highway. Its originally planned length of 12.75 kilometres is expected to increase to 13.23 kilometres when completed. The additional length follows the revised alignment at the Thuravoor end.
The delay also comes as construction continues on the six-lane highway from Thuravoor towards Thiruvananthapuram. The National Highways Authority of India recently assured a meeting of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee that construction of Kerala’s six-lane highway would be completed. The elevated highway is expected to open alongside the broader highway project once the revised works are finished.
The report also noted concerns about embankment stability on the Alappuzha-Kollam stretch, where soil has been used to raise approach roads to bridges constructed for underpasses. The immediate next steps for the Aroor-Thuravoor section are the installation of six additional spans, completion of the revised ground-level connection and the planned load testing before the structure can be opened to traffic.
