The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has promptly initiated measures to address a crater formation on NH 66, situated in close proximity to the Infosys campus.
The crater resulted from a road collapse during the Kerala Water Authority’s drilling for a sewage pipe. NHAI’s objective is to complete the earth-filling process by Saturday night, with the road tarring expected to conclude by Monday.
The incident, causing significant traffic disruption, occurred on Friday evening, prompting NHAI to take immediate action. The affected area originally had a well, covered during land acquisition for national highway development.
NHAI officials are actively working to resolve the issue, having already cut the road to begin filling the crater. Initially, the proximity of a pipe posed challenges, but the KWA has since relocated it, enabling NHAI to proceed with the refilling process. An NHAI official stated, “Once the filling is completed, we will initiate the tarring process. Tarring is scheduled for Monday, considering the plant is on holiday this Saturday. We anticipate completing the tarring by Monday.”
Despite ongoing efforts, traffic congestion persists on NH 66 on Saturday. Several vehicles have been rerouted from Akkulam to Kulathoor through the Akkulam-Ulloor road. The affected area has been cordoned off by the police to manage the situation. NHAI officials have announced their intention to instruct the KWA to provide advance notification to NHAI before undertaking any underground drilling for pipe laying in the future.