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Thank you. I wasn't challenging your finding at all. I think there are other factors that lead me to think this way, but ah well, I'll still pay that much for a smooth and fast ride if I want to go by road, and I guess that atleast 25% of the toll money would be savings in fuel from what we would spend right now. My thoughts are more political - that there ought to be a main arterial highway in the state connecting the major population centres and a tollway would be a 'freeway' that allows for higher speeds between them with limited stops (akin to Bangalore-Mysore); and that if high tolls are going to be collected, the state should really ramp up public transport - make it convenient and comfortable, and smoothly interconnected with intra-city transport. But, these are just my thoughts, others will think differently.



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The stretches opened for public are shown in red colour. I managed to do Kannur- Paliyekkara in 3 hours 45 minutes during day time thanks to partially opened NH66 6 lane highway. I started at 08:07 am and reached at 11:52 am.

Slightly off topic, can someone share why the NHAI bridges have approach roads which are not open for pedestrian vehicle traffic underneath, only the central portion of the bridge is where the pedestrians and vehicles can cross?
I think the part I am referring to is called abutment o something, seeing the amount of block at Kottiyam in Kollam, I was wondering about this.

Those who are driving through this road (Completed sections of the new NH66), please be careful and watch out for surprises. I will name a few that were deadly given the high speeds thats possible and superb road surfaces.

• On right (fast lane), there are cases where the divider concrete slabs are tilted and kept to block half the lane. Mostly noticed where there are exits and entrances to service lane. (Saw couple of badly damaged cars near to it :unhappy )
  
• Vehicles coming in opposite directions, very casually. This too on the right most lane
  
• Without lane marking, some sections are difficult to comprehend the turns at high speeds
  
• People do walk on the right most lane. There are chances they might cross over
  
• Very poorly lit sections, which is expected given the stage of development. But night riding will be risky.

In summary, do enjoy the drive, but please be over cautious for these cases.

It was a bliss driving through the completed sections and so happy to see the beautiful clean high speed highway covered with greenery on both sides :loveit

Saw that the plastic cones placed near the entry/exit points have already been destroyed. Thanks to some idiots trying to enter the highway.

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

Once completed, hopefully the entire stretch will be like this. Patiently waiting for it's completion. But things are pretty slow down south (in and around Cochin).

However, Google Maps shows 5 hours 37 minutes for 222 km (Kannur-Paliyekkara) as the shortest route. Is the Gmaps not considering the partially opened highways to calculate the route?

That works out to ~40 kmph, which means Google is indeed considering higher speeds through partially opened highways. Without that average would only be around 35 kmph.

To test, check out the distance and time from Kuttipuram Nila bridge to Paliyekkara. That is the point where your route diverges from NH 66, and that last 60-ish km would probably take 2 hours unless you are a bus.

Yesterday, I drove from Calicut to Aluva. The biggest problem I found right from Malaparamba junction is that there is poor signage. Many places the road is open you go for 1 or 2 kms and then it's blocked. Google maps has totally wrong info for these places.

Some places there is indication for deviation and when you take the deviation it's fully blocked.

From Calicut to Ponnani there are many segments that are completed but from Ponani to North Paravur/Aluva it's barely complete.

Another big problem that we have in NH 66 is that the divider between to and from roads is extremely narrow as land acquisition was a hassle. Because of this NHAI is having difficulty in placing signage boards.There is also high chance of accidents affecting the opposite lane.

With so many updates happening on frequent basis, Google maps is definitely off at multiple places. Sometimes the deviation it asks to take is not necessary.

To give a rough estimate, these are the averages to expect in current condition of the NH66 (Day time travelling):
Thrissur - Kozhikode: 55 kmph
Kozhikode - Kannur: 40 kmph
Kannur onwards: 45 kmph

You mean... you are able to do Thrissur-Kozhikode in 2 hours?? Despite it being only about half the distance on NH 66?

It's just a rough approximate.
Took around 2 hrs and 10 - 15 mins for the ~ 125 kms in this stretch.

Sorry, I did not understand the second part of the question ('only about half the distance on NH 66')

That's quite good and I'm pleasantly surprised.

Thrissur-Calicut, the section Thrissur-Kuttipuram is a Kerala state highway and Kuttipuram-Ramanattukara is part of NH 66. The split is approx. 50:50.

I am planning a trip to Kollur Mookambika from Kongad, Palakkad. The last time I took this route was about 10 years ago.

What percentage of the newly constructed 4/6-lane road from Ramanattukara to Mangalore and then up to Udupi/Mookambika is complete? Also, how long will it take to reach there? I am planning to drive in June.

Thanks for the details, and yeah I remember lots of deviations and changes of tracks. Maybe my start time of 6 am helped.

A lot is going to change by June, so need to recheck around that time. For now, this distance is going to take roughly 9+ hours.

Glad I booked pondy for this year’s holidays. Will have to wait another year for Kerala to be ready for highway travel.