Thenhipalam: Commuters to University of Calicut will have to continue taking long detours on NH 66, as the National Highways Authority of India has rejected demands for new entry and exit points near the campus.

The authority has turned down the proposal for an exit at Kohinoor on the Kozhikode-bound stretch of NH 66 adjoining the university, as well as a suggested entry point near the main campus gate. A separate request seeking an exit on the Thrissur-bound side near the Chelembra Spinning Mill junction has also been declined, leaving commuters with no immediate relief.

Although P Abdul Hameed MLA raised these demands before the District Development Committee and later took them up directly with the NH Project Director, the authority responded that the proposals were not feasible. With highway construction in the area already completed, officials have informed that a fresh review is no longer possible.

Authorities clarified that the locations of exits from the six-lane highway to service roads, as well as entries from service roads to the main carriage-way were finalised after joint inspections conducted by highway technical experts and officials of the Motor Vehicles Department. The clarification followed the complaint raised by the MLA that the entry and exit points of the NH had been constructed without informing elected representatives.

At present, vehicles travelling from the Thrissur side towards Calicut University via the six-lane highway must exit at Urumi Bazar at Palakkal, nearly four kilometres away from the campus, to access the service road. Alternatively, motorists may continue past the NH stretch running along the campus, access the service road via the Chettiyarmatt exit, cross the flyover at Kakkanchery towards Thrissur and then loop back via the flyover near the University stop. This detour adds nearly four kilometres to the journey.

Local representatives maintain that sufficient space is still available to provide an exit at Kohinoor and an entry near the campus gate. However, with the NH Kerala Circle authorities standing firm, any reconsideration would require intervention at higher levels in New Delhi. The demand for an exit near the Chelembra Spinning Mill junction was raised primarily to facilitate smoother access for airport-bound passengers and other commuters using the route.

NHAI rules out relief for the bottleneck at Kottappuram
Meanwhile, the National Highways Authority of India has also rejected the demand to ease the traffic bottleneck at the junction of the Kottappuram PWD road near the Kakkanchery flyover at Chelembra by acquiring additional land. The authority maintains that it cannot assume responsibility for areas beyond the 45 metre width of the national highway corridor. The NH Project Director informed P Abdul Hameed MLA that the State government would have to acquire the required land and implement corrective measures if the issue needs to be resolved.

Complaints regarding the uneven width and varying heights of pedestrian walkways along the highway service roads have also been turned down. The liaison officer told the MLA that the footpaths were constructed after assessing land availability and that alterations at this stage would not be practical.