CoRWA summit to discuss NH 66 bypass woes, Kakkanad metro extension delay in Kochi

The NH Bypass supplies more than a thousand units of passenger cars every day. | Photo credit: file photo

The 13th conference of the Confederation of Residents Welfare Associations (CoRWA), the apex body for residents’ welfare associations at the national level, to be held at the Ernakulam Town Hall on November 14-15, will discuss, among others, the inadequate and dilapidated state of public infrastructure, particularly the state of the National Highways (NH) and EdapporNH corridors, such as 6. Inordinate delays in the commissioning of the Kakkanad Metro Extension in Kochi.

This comes amid fears that the 17-km Edappally-Aroor NH bypass, the busiest and most congested section of NH 66, will turn into a bottleneck once the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) completes six-laning of the rest of NH 66 in Kerala by 2028. vehicles from the 10-lane Thuravoor-Aroor section, both from the six-lane 13-km-long elevated expressway and the four-lane NH corridor below it.

Likewise, tens of thousands of vehicles from the six-lane Guruvayur-Edappally NH 66 corridor, flanked by two-lane service roads on both sides, will have to jostle for space once they enter the four-lane NH bypass in Kochi.

Interestingly, NHAI officials said the agency’s focus has shifted from the six-lane elevated expressway it was considering to build along the NH bypass as a continuation of the Thuravoor-Aroor elevated expressway to the 50-km Kochi Outer Ring Road (ORR) project, whose 3A notification is pending.

P. Rangadasa Prabhu, president of the Ernakulam District Residents Association Apex Council (EDRAAC), expressed dismay at the turn of events and the “neglect” of the NH Bypass, which caters to more than a million units of passenger cars daily, and questioned how vehicles from the 10-lane stretches on both sides of the NH6neck would be able to pass through the four lanes.

Vyttila railway bridge

“What’s worse, NHAI has not widened the Vyttila rail flyover, even though huge traffic jams are the norm on its southern side where vehicles coming in five lanes (from the three-lane flyover and the two-lane service road) have to squeeze into the two-lane bridge. These issues of grossly inadequate road infrastructure will be discussed and discussed at the CoR.

EDRAAC District Vice President DG Suresh said NHAI should have taken remedial measures such as widening the NH Bypass or building an elevated expressway given the heavy toll it collects from motorists using the stretch. Commuters and pedestrians would now have to bear the brunt as the traffic snarl in the corridor was expected to worsen.

The NHAI should also have the Kochi ORR completed by now, given the surge in passenger and truck traffic in the region. Such NH-related issues and inordinate delay in the completion of the Kochi Metro extension at Kakkanad would be addressed at the CoRWA summit inaugurated by Chief Minister VD Satheesan, he added.

Published – 24 Oct 2026 07:00 IST