Final alignment ready for Coastal Highway.

The final alignment of the proposed 657-km Coastal Highway that will traverse through nine districts has been submitted by the National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (Natpac) to the government.

Aimed at improving the road connectivity of the coastal belt of the State, the highway starts from Poovar in Thiruvananthapuram and ends at Kunjathoor near Thalapady in Kasaragod. It will traverse through Kollam, Alappuzha, Ernakulum, Thrissur, Malappuram, Kozhikode and Kannur districts.

The recommended width of the highway is 12 metres with a carriageway width of 7 metres. However, as per the local conditions and availability of land, the carriageway width and right of way can be limited to 5.5 metres and 8 metres respectively.

The report was handed over to Chief Engineer, PWD, NH, K. P. Prabhakaran by Director-in-charge, Natpac, R. Prakash Kumar.

Natpac has expressed its willingness to prepare the detailed project report for the highway, official sources said.

Natpac has said the highway can be developed in four phases. In Phase I, 64 km is to be taken up and 246, 104 and 43 km in Phase II, Phase III and Phase IV respectively. It will involve construction of four ROBs, 14 bridges and four flyovers.

Besides reducing the congestion in the NH corridors, the Coastal Highway is expected to boost the tourism sector and help better integration with various other modes of transport, especially water transport.

Natpac has also sought clarification from the government on the consultancy fee and other issues to take forward the detailed project report for the proposed 1,267-km Hill Highway that passes through 13 districts, except Alappuzha.

The corridor starts from Nandarapadavu in Kasaragod and ends at Parasala in Thiruvananthapuram.

As a pilot case, Natpac has completed the survey and is finalising the DPR for the 8-km Vazhichal – Kudappanamoodu section in Thiruvananthapuram. The issues connected with the Hill Highway DPR had been taken up with Asha Thomas, Principal Secretary, PWD.

Funds from the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board is to be utilised to execute the 1,919.4-km Hill Highway and Coastal Highway.

THE HINDU