[binand]

Originally Posted by M35

I am planning a trip to Kollur Mookambika from Kongad, Palakkad... 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.

By June, Calicut bypass would also be fully done and opened. So you can say about 60% will be done. This article has specifics: https://keralakaumudi.com/en/news/news.php?id=1488865

Once you are out of Kerala it is fully 4-lane, dual carriageway till Kundapura where you turn off NH 66 towards Kollur (alternatively, you can proceed a bit further ahead till Baindoor and turn off from there also). For detailed information check the Mangalore-Goa thread. Crossing Mangalore city will be time-consuming, so prefer to do that during off-peak hours.

Your trip should need about 10 hours driving time.

[sarathlal]

As Kerala is gearing up for a refreshed roadways, sincerely hope the authorities donot wait for an incident to happen to put proper enforcements in place.
No, I did not mean fining a 110 kmph vehicle on a 100 kmph highway (I did not intent insane speeds to be ok though - hope the gist is understood), but fatal mistakes like riding the opposite way.

Here is one such example where a fully loaded bus is running in opposite side fast lane at full speed, when the roads are not even fully opened.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1712594413028830

Such incidents should not go unpunished, not even one. If these are not nipped in the bud, there will be fatalities

[darklord]

First part of a two-part series documenting traversing Kerala from Karode at the southern border to Thalapady at the northern border through NH66.

This part documents drive from Karode KL-TN border in Trivandrum to Ramanattukara in Kozhikode.

https://youtu.be/nJ-PuWd18SI?si=ckjIfJrmTlgmS1uL

[ram7077]

Originally Posted by anb

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.

Are you using a Windsor EV ? Have you stopped for charging in between ? Could you please tell me how did travel from Kannur to Kochi in 4 hrs time considering the traffic at Vadakara, Payyoli, Koyilandy and some unfinished parts at Kozhikode ? Any shortcuts ? It literally took me 4 hrs to travel from Thalassery to Guruvayur last month.

[Pequod]

Originally Posted by sarathlal

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.

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

Originally Posted by sarathlal

Such incidents should not go unpunished, not even one. If these are not nipped in the bud, there will be fatalities

Unfortunately our police, RTO or any other enforcement agency will wait until accidents due to bad driving habits become the norm - and then come up with knee jerk reactions. There seems to be no hope for any proactive action.

I have done Calicut-Ernakulam/Trivandrum 5-6 times in the last couple of months, and wrong lane driving on the completed stretches (on the rightmost lane, no less) is just casual, almost like it’s legal. The offending drivers also stare at you with a look that translates to “the road is wide enough you idiot”. There is absolute and blissful ignorance of the kind of danger they are exposing themselves and other road users to.

Sticking to 80-90 kph and adopting an extremely defensive driving mode - that’s the best a sensible driver could do.

[darklord]

Originally Posted by darklord

First part of a two-part series documenting traversing Kerala from Karode at the southern border to Thalapady at the northern border through NH66.

Part 2: Ramanattukara to Thalapady:

https://youtu.be/OW8AiABr42M?si=_ZOi-ffL-zGwKuZ-

[clevermax]

A section of newly constructed NH66 collapses in Malappurram, Kerala.

https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news...alted-iv3cqxmj

[LakeWalker]

A section of NH66 collapsed onto the service road in Malappuram, Kerala. Multiple cars (I think 3) that were travelling on the service road were caught up in the disaster, and a few people in the cars were injured. Thankfully, the injuries are not serious, as per the reports. A few photos below:























I'm glad that this section is only partially open, and there were no cars on the main lanes. Otherwise, this would've become worse.

Locals say this area was part of a field, and the construction was done without sufficient scientific studies. The same complaint exists about the areas (in other districts) of NH66, which is being built after digging paths through hills.
This particular section of the highway was built by the infamous 'Megha Construction Group' from the electoral bond scam.

This is not the first incident that shows the low quality of NH 66 work in Kerala. Back in 2022, an underpass that was under construction collapsed in the Malappuram district. There were multiple incidents of super-visers not being present at the work site during important construction work that was going on.

NHAI is least bothered about these things after the contracts are given.

In my personal opinion, we will see many more such incidents during the monsoon season in Kerala for the next 3-4 years, till NHAI corrects their mistakes, because 'One nation, One method' is mostly stupid for a diverse country like India.

Photo Courtesy: Malayala Manorama and Mathrubhumi

[Pequod]

https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news...cerns-xiq3ppky

Four failures, and the monsoon has just started.

Doesn’t augur well for safety, quality or reliability of the 6-laning work on NH-66 in progress through the entire state.

[Klub Class]

Just a correction:

Originally Posted by LakeWalker

This particular section of the highway was built by the infamous 'Megha Construction Group' from the electoral bond scam.

The section was built by KNR Constructions (based in Hyderabad)

They're doing two sections:

1. Ramanattukara to Valanchery (40 kms)

2. Valanchery to Kappirikkad (38 kms)

[LakeWalker]

Originally Posted by Klub Class

Just a correction:



The section was built by KNR Constructions (based in Hyderabad)

They're doing two sections:

1. Ramanattukara to Valanchery (40 kms)

2. Valanchery to Kappirikkad (38 kms)

Yes, my bad. You're right, Megha Engineering has a different stretch.

[naveen.raju]

Few other sections in and around Malappuram also developed cracks.

And now Chavakkad, Thrissur. God save Kerala.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re1eBBnOPWA

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by LakeWalker

NHAI is least bothered about these things after the contracts are given.

In my personal opinion, we will see many more such incidents during the monsoon season in Kerala for the next 3-4 years, till NHAI corrects their mistakes, because 'One nation, One method' is mostly stupid for a diverse country like India.

Photo Courtesy: Malayala Manorama and Mathrubhumi

This is very worrisome to see. KNRC seemed to be doing very good work across their reaches. With the monsoon expected to hit in full force by this weekend, it is going to be some tension filled days ahead.

This particular section was one of the last pending ones before the full stretch covering 1 reach in Calicut and the 2 reaches in Malappuram were to be opened up. There was a deadline of May 31st. Having used this route a few times recently, it was clear that the work was being very fast. Was appreciating the speed of work at that time, but looks like there may have been compromises.

[LakeWalker]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

KNRC seemed to be doing very good work across their reaches.

Looks like they were very good at finishing the work fast, but not keeping the quality.

Since this incident, multiple stories have been reported about the lack of quality in NH66 work from across Kerala. People are accusing NHAI or the companies of having done almost zero geographic studies in the areas where the soil is sensitive.

Today morning I saw a report about a past incident where the locals were saying even after it was proved that the collapse happened because of the lower thickness of the iron rods, when the company rebuilt the structure, they used the rods with the same thickness. I think it was the Alappuzha flyover girder collapse.

Like my wife said today, "Before this(accident), at least we had decent highway roads, even if it was narrow and travel time was slow. After this accident, everyone across Kerala will be worried about this happening from now on. And it's not like one area, since NH66 is across Kerala, the entire Kerala is affected".

Also, like I said and showed in one of my previous posts on this thread, their stupid idea of making rainwater flow like multiple mini waterfalls from the main central lanes to the service lanes on both sides is going to cause severe problems in the future. There are already multiple videos of it on social media. People are wondering how NHAI approved such a bad design.

One thing I don't understand is why can't they make flyovers instead of these underpasses and giant-wall-roads leading up to them. Can someone who knows construction explain? For example, it works perfectly in a city like Bengaluru. Plenty of long flyovers here.

[volkman10]

Kerala’s cracking highways: NHAI faces scrutiny over embankment failures.

Link: