First elevated highway in Kochi

Kochi: The state is likely to get its first elevated highway along the 40-km Edapally-Cherthala stretch if an ambitious project mooted by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) fructifies.

The plan to build the four-lane elevated highway, which can be accessed only at limited junctions, was considered after the traffic density on the Aroor-Edapally sector (NH-47 bypass) exceeded that of a six-lane highway.

“With increasing traffic density there were two options before us. We could either expand the current four-lane highway into six-lane or go for an elevated highway. However, as per a study carried out last year, the daily traffic volume on the 16-km section was 70,000 Passenger Car Units (PCUs), exceeding the six-lane capacity,” a senior official of the Ernakulam region of NHAI said.

The authority will again conduct a study, including cost, traffic density and the future benefits. “We’ve received a communication in this regard from the headquarters,” he said.

“A similar proposal was earlier mooted over five years back, but, the same was abandoned due to the cost involved,” the official added.

A normal four-lane highway with service road and median would cost around Rs 2 crore per km while an elevated highway would cost over Rs 8 crore.

“The section has service roads for most parts. Hence six-laning will be difficult. We’ll also include the Vytilla and Kundanoor flyovers if the elevated highway project gets the nod,” the official said.

At present, the 16-km Edapally-Aroor section is maintained by the NHAI while the remaining 24-km Aroor-Cherthala is maintained by the state government. The initiative comes even as the state government is finalising plans to develop the NH stretches to 45 metres.

Meanwhile, the NHAI is set to invite tenders to prepare the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for a new Angamaly-Aroor NH bypass, to be constructed parallel to the existing one.