The work to develop the Edappally-Kozhikode NH 66 corridor as a six-lane access-controlled stretch is set to begin shortly in Ernakulam district, where 25% of the compensation amount to people who surrendered their land has been disbursed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
Similarly, compensation has been disbursed to 90% of the landowners in Malappuram and 80% in Thrissur. The six-lane corridor will be flanked by two-lane service roads on either side, each having seven metre-tarred carriageway. This will lessen commuting time from Kochi to Kozhikode from over five hours to less than three hours, official sources said.
A total of about ₹4,000 crore has been disbursed so far as compensation through deputy collectors who were entrusted with land acquisition. Contractors have been finalised to execute the widening work in different reaches of the national highway. The Edappally-Kozhikode stretch is expected to be widened as a six-lane highway in about three years, with the NHAI fixing a 30-month deadline once the widening work begins.
In addition, five to six months would be necessary to complete demolition of buildings on the acquired land, cutting of trees and to shift underground and overhead utilities. This process has begun in Malappuram, it is learnt.
On the demand from residents of some localities to shift the alignment, sources said this would be tough since the alignment must have minimum curves, to cater to fast-moving vehicles on what has been envisaged as an access-controlled corridor. Else, a km-long alignment on either side would have to be changed, they added.
The land acquisition process was tough in the Edappally-Moothakunnam stretch, since a bulk of people who had surrendered their land over 20 years ago to widen the stretch to 30 metres, had opposed a second round of land acquisition to develop the corridor as a 45-m wide national highway.
