Kozhikode: Serious lapses have been noticed in the construction of the Malapparambu–Thondayad service road on the eastern side of the Thondayad Junction along the National Highway.

With the completion of the second flyover at Thondayad, container trucks lost direct access to the Medical College–Town areas through the eastern service road. Following a series of vehicle collisions on the bridge, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has now dismantled the two-metre-wide footpath and drainage to widen the service road.

Once the construction was completed, the width of the service road between Kudilthodu and Thondayad fell short. While most stretches of the service road measure 7 metres wide, a 400-metre section from near the Kudilthodu Vishnu Temple to Thondayad Junction has been constructed with only a 5-metre width. This design flaw has created a major hazard with container trucks using the road, often scraping against the pier caps of the first three pillars of he flyover.

With the road opened to traffic, repeated hits by trucks have already caused damage to the concrete pier caps, raising concerns about the safety of the flyover itself. As the issue grew serious, NHAI officials inspected the site.

Although land acquisition for the service road was already completed and provisions made for a two-metre-wide footpath and iron handrails, the reduced width at the busy stretch has now forced a redesign. The new plan involves dismantling the existing drainage and reconstructing it on top of the road. As part of this, the footpath along the stretch has already been removed over the past few days.