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-   -   NH 66 in Kerala | Status and Updates on 6-Lane Conversion (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-travel-queries/288231-nh-66-kerala-status-updates-6-lane-conversion-4.html)

Great effort Rajeev. The last time I drove the length of Kerala was way back in 2009, so like somebody already said, it is highly anticipated, and we are already planning a trip till Gokarna, I hope in 2026.

There will be a toll between Parippally and Kalluvathukkal, Sriramapuram to be exact. Already started construction. It will be a staggered toll plaza, like in Thiruvallom, with 6 gates in each direction. The first toll in the opposite direction, towards Ernakulam will be at Oachira.

Check 5:00 onwards:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdDLuI9JV6E

Also, for me, this is the go-to channel for NH66 works updates south of Ernakulam.

Hello Auto_guy_101,

I am sorry for the delayed response, was occupied with other personal matters. I hope you have not started your journey and this message reaches you in time.

Answering your queries in order.

1. Yes, the Mahe bypass is complete and the collection of tolls has begun. Google Maps link to the location of the Toll Booth. https://maps.app.goo.gl/5ifqm6daW57RvcP38

2. Yes.

Posting images of the two scenarios.

If you decide to take the Mahe Bypass and not enter the town.


If you decide to enter Mahe town and then return to the bypass. I have put Mahe St. Thresa Shrine as the stop. The road leading back to the bypass after the Shrine as per maps is a narrow stretch. Also, I entered Mahe around 8.30 am, and to be honest I did not encounter much traffic. Before the bypass, it was a bottle-neck at any time during the day and night


Another image, In case you decide to bypass/escape the Toll itself, you would have to enter Thalassery Town. I have attached an image of the route with respect to the toll booth/gate


I usually fuel up within Mahe town itself. Fuel is generally not adultered in Mahe, I have filled in Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum, and Bharat Petroleum. I drive a petrol car, so the queue is usually less than the diesel queue, which is generally queued by trucks. The peak time for the petrol pumps is usually between 6-8 am. Last I remember, regular petrol is around Rs. 90/L and XP95 is around Rs. 96/L

Regarding food, I have not found any good food options along the whole route up to Mangalore. One would have to either carry food from home or at least reach Thokottu, better to cross the Nethravathi Bridge.

In Mahe, around the church, there are multiple coffee shops and bakeries. The good ones are just opposite the church.

Happy to see a thread on Highway upgrade status of Kerala. The roads in Kerala have been a major disappointment for tourists, particularly roadtrippers who love to explore new places. My own experience with Kerala's roads hasn't been great. After getting our XUV500 2017, Me, my wife along with friends, did Bangalore-Kanyakumari-Rameswaram-Bangalore trip, and the roads were excellent. This gave us confidence to explore more.
We always wanted to explore Kerala, so in August 2018, we drove from Bangalore to Kumarakom and then to Mangalore. The road up to Palakkad was fine, but after that, there were ongoing 4-lane and tunnel constructions with numerous blockades. The drive from Kumarakom to Mangalore was one of the worst experiences we had ~450ksm took us about 14 hours. Later, in December that same year, we drove from Bangalore to Kollam via Kovilpatti, covering 680 km in 12 hours, but the last 180km in Kerala took 5hrs due to road widening, diversions, and blockages. In 2019, made a Bangalore-Munnar trip via Theni. The roads were good until we reached the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border, but after entering Kerala, the condition was horrible, there were no proper roads in some areas. Due to ongoing widening work and poorly maintained interior roads exploring places was herculean task.
In 2022, we traveled from Mangalore to Coimbatore via Guruvayur. Fortunately, the 4-lane project was completed on that stretch, and we finally got to enjoy a smooth drive, even in the monsoon rains. It was one of the best drives in Kerala.

This thread is a great hope for road-trippers, Kerala will again have better road connectivity, allowing travelers like us to fully enjoy the state's beauty and hospitality.

https://www.manoramaonline.com/distr...eflectors.html

Don't know if it is just in the Kasaragod reach or entire KL reaches. Since we don't have wide medians to grow plants on, this seems to be the next best thing.

From another perspective, I get 22kmpl while driving through TN 4 lane highways (in day time) while it drops to below 18 when driving in the 2 lane highways in Kerala during daytime. Think about the amount of additional emissions that the thousands of vehicles plying these Highways cause. Given the amount of vehicles entering Kerala and the number of vehicles per household here, a 6 lane highway is a bare minimum right now. If they can also get the controversial high speed rail corridor up and running, all the more better. That would make the state much better for travel for both tourists and residents.

All of the land acquired was obviously not green cover, some were concrete buildings. The rise in temperature is also because of global warming for which everyone in the world is responsible. Kerala cannot just rest on its laurels as a green covered state and watch while everybody else are already 10-20 years ahead when it comes to highways. It's really pulling down the economic development of the state.

Unfortunately missed your answer. I started my journey on the 12th and stopped at an Indian Oil (I try to use their XP95 especially when ghats and hills are involved) which was a short deviation from the bypass itself. Wanted to try Jio BP with their Rs. 3 discount, but that pump was a bit far off.

I’d found a nice restaurant in Kannur for lunch, although it took us a good amount of time to get there.

Just did a trip from Palakkad to Kannur. NH966 was horrible but the pièce de résistance was the NH66. Leaving aside the final stretch to Kannur the rest of it was the stuff of nightmares.

I actually took a few diversions and went into interior roads to get past the traffic pile up at multiple locations.

These content creators are indeed doing a commendable job, giving technical information along with visuals and updates. They deserve an applause.

This is what I was trying to say. NHAI's "brilliant", 'one nation one design' is going to ruin people's lives. Check the below videos.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/g59LEcDjRBA

I hope they have considered Kerala's heavy monsoons and make some changes soon.

I am a regular user of the NH66 stretch between Karunagapply and Trivandrum from the late 90s and I can confirm that the state of this stretch is at its WORST now.
So much so that I bypass NH66 altogether (and take other possible routes) to get from point A in NH66 to point B in NH66 that are just 80 kilometers apart.

There were good old times when I could do an Edappally(Cochin) - Mangalapuram(Trv) in 2.5 hours, and a Kollam - Mangalapuram in 45 minutes, without overspeeding, but those are all long gone.

The way it looks, this whole NH66 '6-lane' project is going to take another 4-5 years to complete.

Dashcam timelapse video of NH66 (from Chavara to Trivandrum) taken during April 2021:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji5-2gLNez4

If you're looking for detailed and up-to-date information on the road conditions of NH66, I recommend checking out RoadMyLife on YouTube.

He has provided comprehensive reviews of road conditions and hotels, with a recent video specifically covering NH66 in January 2025. It's very thorough and helpful, especially if you're planning a trip.

Though the information is in Hindi.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3p9fxsitio

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONrTMbOQXFU

I’m curious - what are your predictions for the total tolls in the entire stretch? Or even Kozhikode to Kochi and Kochi to Trivandrum? Tolls are really high in Kerala in general, and the Kovalam toll takes the cake.

I expect it to be in the ballpark of around ₹1.6-2.0/km. Or, maybe ₹1000 ± ₹200 for border-to-border travel.

Tolls are practically nonexistent in Kerala now (of course, with the redeveloped NH 66 and the government's decision to collect tolls on KIIFB roads that is set to change). Of the ones that do exist the one that you mention - Thiruvallam - does seem to be a bit high (₹3.6/km) but remember that it is an urban bypass with significantly higher land acquisition cost and built at a time when the state did not share that cost (if I'm not mistaken).

Thanks for your response, appreciate it. It's interesting that you say that Kerala currently has few tolls - I see what you mean, but it doesn't feel like that when you are driving around. For Thiruvallam, I do think it's unreasonable, especially since it's just outside an urban area. The closest equivalent I can think of in Kerala is the Kochi NH966-A, but that's less than half the price. I understand how the prices are calculated, but I do think they are unfairly skewed.

So I looked up some data to back up what I was saying rather than both of us talking about what we feel. Here is what I found:



Only, I don't know if all the 11 toll booths are active or not in Kerala. I have passed through just 6 of them.

I came across this article which tries to explain why Thiruvallam toll is so high - because it includes the 2.7km long Kazhakoottam flyover.

https://keralakaumudi.com/en/news/ne...aragod-1265663

It also answers the question you asked below (though I think it is still estimating and not going by any official figures) - "Toll for a car travelling from Karode to Thalappadi will be Rs 1650".