Thiruvananthapuram: The state PWD will develop the 5.1-km stretch of Kozhikode bypass on its own at a cost of Rs 145 crore as the National Highway Authority of India is willing to develop the bypass only if it is given the full stretch of 160 km with a width of 45 metres.
The PWD will develop the bypass under the Sustainable and Planned Effort to Ensure Infrastructure Development of Kerala (SPEEID) project. Simultaneously, the Kollam and Alappuzha bypasses will be developed on a 50:50 basis by the PWD and the NHAI.
With the Union road transport and highways ministry giving the green signal to resume work on the Kozhikode bypass, the state cabinet will soon provide administrative sanction. Under SPEEID, 24 projects worth Rs 10, 000 crore will be implemented.
“On the Kozhikode bypass, there are two bridges – Pooladikunnu and Vengalam- for which there will not be any toll,” PWD Minister V.K. Ebrahimkunju told DC.
The tendering process for the Thiruvananthapuram bypass will be initiated in a week’s time with the agreement being signed by the Union Road Transport and Highway and PWD officials in New Delhi.
PWD officials said this was the first time a state was sharing the work on a bypass with the NHAI. Out of seven km on the Alappuzha bypass costing Rs 256 crore, a 3.2-km stretch is being constructed at an elevated level to preserve the beauty of the beach. On the 13-km Kollam bypass costing Rs 267 crore, there will be two lanes and three bridges.
