The National Highways Authority of India has set up three specialised casting yards to speed up six-laning of the 26.06-km NH66 stretch between Edappally and Moothakunnam in Kochi, with officials targeting completion by May 2027 despite continuing material and construction hurdles.
The prefabricated concrete facilities, including sites at FACT and Hazhi camp, will produce structures away from the main corridor before they are assembled at the project site. The approach is intended to reduce construction time and limit traffic congestion caused by ongoing highway works.
The project, being executed by Oriental Structural Engineers, began on October 25, 2022. It was originally scheduled for completion by April 2025, but bottlenecks have pushed the deadline back by more than two years. Work on the section is currently about 75% complete, according to the report.
The revised project scope includes 18 additional structures aimed at improving local connectivity and easing traffic bottlenecks. The additions involve 4.9 km of extra pillars and 5.9 km of new service roads. An NHAI official said prefabrication had already been completed for 220 of the additional 1,100 piles and 200 of the additional 1,000 girders.
The project continues to face difficulties in securing construction materials. The stretch requires approximately 900,000 tonnes of high-grade crushed stone and granite. A month-long ban on interstate quarry transport from Tamil Nadu had threatened to halt physical work, according to the report.
To address the shortage, authorities have applied for extraction rights at a government quarry in Thrissur and sought approval for local sourcing from Chalakudy. The project has also used dredged soil from a shipping channel through a partnership with Cochin Port Trust to partly meet its red soil requirement. Permission has additionally been sought to use soil from the Kottappuram irrigation channel.
All primary bridge structures on the corridor, including seven major bridges and eight minor bridges, have been completed. The parallel Varapuzha bridge, built using the balanced cantilever technique, is operational. Work on the three-lane Edappally railway overbridge and adjoining service roads is in its final phase, with an opening planned for December.
The two flyover-cum-underpasses on either side of Edappally Junction, however, are now expected to open only in May 2027. Their scope was revised to address long-term traffic movement, including an additional 90 metres of length for each flyover. The structures will now be 740 metres long instead of the originally planned 650 metres.
One flyover is located near the Lulu Office entrance to the north and the other near Oberon Mall to the south. Each will be 50 metres wide and will receive three additional structural spans on either side. An underpass near the southern flyover is also being built to help pedestrians and small vehicles move between Marottichuvadu Market and the MAJ Hospital side of Edappally. The next stated milestones are the December opening of the railway overbridge and continued work towards the May 2027 completion target.
