“We’re widening the entire hill road to 10 metres. Landslips frequently occur in these regions and to prevent the same, we’re constructing a retaining wall for 40 kms, and breast wall for 51 kms,” the NHAI official pointed out. Besides, a total of 45 culverts along the corridor have been reconstructed at a cost of Rs 50 crore. The completion of the Kochi-Munnar NH-85 upgrading project is likely to boost tourism. A four-lane Greenfield National Highway (NH) in the Kochi-Munnar-Theni corridor, extending 151 km, is being planned.

Culvert work near Statue Jn nearing completion

Meanwhile, the much-delayed construction of a culvert near the Statue Junction along NH 85 is nearing completion. The work, which started over three years ago, resulted in frequent traffic jams at the entrance to the Tripunithura Mini Bypass Junction, creating headache to commuters and sparking multiple protests by residents.

“Now the work has almost been completed and interlocking tiles have been laid,” the NHAI official said.

The issue began nearly three years ago when a pothole on one side of NH 85 gradually developed into a big crater. Below this section ran a narrow canal built around 60 years ago as part of a temporary road by Cochin Refinery.

As the canal eroded, the earth began to cave in, rendering part of the road unusable and leading to numerous accidents, especially involving two-wheelers.

“The pit formed after a segment of the old canal collapsed. It grew over time, making part of the road hazardous. Several accidents occurred as unsuspecting two-wheeler riders fell into the pit while negotiating the turn,” said A B Sabu, a local resident and former chairman of the Kochi Corporation’s standing committee, now working as an executive engineer with the Greater Cochin

Development Authority (GCDA). Construction of a 21-metre-long culvert resumed nearly ten months ago, with work divided into three phases of 7 metres each.