Aroor-Thuravoor elevated highway concrete work to wrap up, traffic restrictions in place

Concrete pouring on a crucial stretch of the Aroor-Thuravoor elevated highway is scheduled to be completed by Saturday evening, marking a major milestone in the mega infrastructure project. The works, which resumed after a long-standing delay caused by utility relocation, are currently underway near Sreenarayana Nagar.

Consequently, traffic along National Highway 66 between Alappuzha and Kochi has been regulated. Commuters experienced long delays on Friday as vehicles travelling towards Kochi were restricted to a single lane, resulting in a kilometre-long queue stretching past Chandiroor. Aroor police officers and marshals from the construction firm have been deployed on-site to manage the bottleneck and ease traffic flow. On Saturday morning, concrete pouring commenced on the eastern side of the highway for vehicles heading from Kochi to Alappuzha. Officials have stated that if the weather remains favourable, the concrete pouring will wrap up by Saturday evening.

Clearing the hurdles
The final phase of slab casting over pillars 24, 25, and 26 spans a 70-metre stretch. This segment of the highway had faced prolonged delays due to a 110 KV KSEB transmission line that crossed directly above the pillars. Work could only proceed after new transmission towers were erected and the high-voltage lines were raised to a safe height.

Nearing the finish line
The current phase involves pouring concrete over 14 massive girders spanning three pillars. Once this 70-metre section is completed, the concrete works for the entire 25-kilometre stretch of the elevated highway (including both sides of the dual-carriageway) will finally be complete.