Kodungallur-Angamaly NH 544 bypass alignment likely to be ready in a fortnight
The detailed project report (DPR) for the Kodungallur-Angamaly Highway (NH) 544 bypass is in its final stage, with the alignment of the corridor expected to
The detailed project report (DPR) for the Kodungallur-Angamaly Highway (NH) 544 bypass is in its final stage, with the alignment of the corridor expected to be fixed within a fortnight, it is learnt. The approximately 18-km stretch, expected to be built at a cost of ₹360 crore, would help motorists bypass congested junctions, especially in and around Angamaly, where serpentine traffic snarls frequently hold them up. The final inception report has been submitted, and the alignment option study is under scrutiny and verification. The width and other aspects of the project will be finalised shortly, official sources said. The Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has envisaged the bypass as a continuation of the 50-km Aroor-Angamaly NH 544 bypass, also known as the Kochi Bypass, which is expected to merge with NH 544 at Karayamparambu, north of Angamaly.
A fresh 3A notification to acquire land for the eight-lane-wide Kochi Bypass is expected to be issued shortly, since the initial notification lapsed in 2024. Additional land, measuring 12.5 metres in width on either side of the proposed 45-metre-wide corridor earmarked for the greenfield Kochi Bypass, is expected to be acquired to accommodate eight lanes. This would enable the stretch to be widened into a 10-lane corridor at a later stage, it is learnt. Meanwhile, there is a growing demand that the NHAI, which collects tolls from motorists at Paliyekkara, ensure optimal use of the existing width of the national highway along the Edappally-Karayamparambu stretch, which forms part of the toll corridor, to streamline traffic flow and reduce traffic hold-ups.
Arjun Prakash, an IT professional who frequently commutes between Kochi and Thrissur along the NH and is also the administrator of the Kochi First social media collective, said the NHAI should ensure a wider tarred carriageway and well-maintained road shoulders along the corridor. Welcoming the steps under way to construct a pair of greenfield NH bypasses that would establish direct connectivity between Aroor and Kodungallur, he said the projects would help create a semicircle of national highway corridors around Kochi. “Among other benefits, these projects would considerably reduce travel time for regular commuters and air passengers, especially those from Thrissur and other northern districts who use Cochin International Airport.
On its part, the NHAI must construct spur-connectivity/link roads from the greenfield NH corridors to the airport and other key towns. The proposed national highways and their link roads will catalyse Kochi’s urban expansion, for which the government must ensure proper land zoning by clearly earmarking residential and commercial areas. The national highways will also decongest the two roads linking Aluva and Perumbavur,” he added.
The BriefWire