Thiruvananthapuram: The ₹33.02-crore Killipalam–Attakulangara smart road is set to be excavated to repair a sewage line leakage. The rupture was detected in the middle of the road, opposite Kothuval Street.

The excavation comes as a setback to authorities’ earlier assurances that smart roads would not require digging for maintenance of drinking water and sewage pipelines, or for electric and telephone cables. Flooding along the road during recent rains, despite the presence of wide drains, had already sparked public concern.

The leak was found in a 900 mm-wide pipe. As the repair was urgent, officials from the Water Authority’s Kuryathi sub-division coordinated with smart road authorities and secured permission for excavation.

Maintenance work is scheduled to begin today. Traffic along the Killipalam–Attakulangara stretch will be restricted for a week, with a single lane open for two-way movement from Attakulangara to Killipalam.

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The 1.16-kilometre road was reconstructed under the Smart City Project at a cost of ₹33.02 crore. Officials had highlighted that the main advantage of smart roads was that they would not need excavation for routine maintenance—a claim now under scrutiny.

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