Prefabrication of structures at FACT casting yard near Kalamassery
With this, officials are positive about meeting the May 2027 deadline. The six-lane widening work in the section, executed by contractor Oriental Structural Engineers, started on Oct 25, 2022. Originally slated for completion by April 2025, persistent bottlenecks have pushed the deadline to May 2027. Work on the corridor currently stands at 75% complete. Under the updated plan, NHAI must build 18 additional structures to ease local connectivity and traffic bottlenecks. This includes constructing an extra 4.9km of pillars and 5.9km of new service roads. “We’ve already completed the prefabricated casting of 220 out of the total additional 1,100 piles and 200 of the total additional 1,000 girders. A recent month-long ban on interstate quarry transport imposed by Tamil Nadu threatened to halt physical work, as the project still requires roughly 900,000 tonnes of high-grade crushed stone and granite.
Kochi : To accelerate six-lane work on the key 26.06km Edappally-Moothakunnam stretch of National Highway 66 (NH 66) and ensure that there is no traffic congestion on the stretch due to NH works, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has set up three specialised casting yards.
“To overcome the same, we’ve applied for extraction rights at the govt quarry in Thrissur and requested local sourcing approvals from Chalakudy,” the official said. “We’ve additionally sought permission from the state govt to use soil from Kottappuram irrigation channel,” he added. Prefabricated concrete structures will be made at the dedicated facilities like the FACT site and Hazhi camp and assembled at the site. Now the authorities have decided to expand the project’s scope to better manage long-term traffic flow. We can save considerable time through the prefabricated construction mode,” the official added. However, raw material scarcity, especially that of quarry and soil for filling up works, remains the major operational barrier. Despite the hurdles, all primary bridge structures, including seven major and eight minor bridges, are complete, and the parallel Varapuzha bridge, constructed using the unique balanced cantilever technique, is operational. Work on the three-lane Edappally railway overbridge and surrounding service roads is in its final phase and is set for a Dec opening.
Earlier, red soil deficit was met to a small extent after partnering with Cochin Port Trust to use dredged soil from the shipping channel.
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Now their construction has resumed from Edapally,” the official said. The delay comes after a revision in the project scope to manage long-term traffic flow and increase the length of the flyovers by an additional 90m each. An underpass near the flyover at the southern end to facilitate pedestrian and small vehicle movement from Marottichuvadu Market to the other side of Edapally (MAJ hospital side) is being constructed. “These works are additional in scope. NHAI decided to extend both new flyovers, having a width of 50m, by adding three structural spans to each side. One flyover is located to the north near the Lulu Office entrance, and the other sits to the south near Oberon Mall. The additional three spans on each side will result in the flyover length being increased by 90m. Now both the flyovers will be 740m in length instead of the original 650m. Extending the structures will help pull vehicles further away from the main, existing Edappally flyover, ultimately leading to better traffic decongestion. Download the TOI App.
Meanwhile, the work on two flyover-cum-underpasses being built on either side of the main Edappally Junction is now expected to open only in May 2027.