Two-Wheelers and Autos Barred from Kerala’s Under-Construction Six-Lane NH-66
Kozhikode: Two-wheelers and auto-rickshaws will not be permitted on the six-lane National Highway-66 (NH-66) currently under construction in Kerala. Warning signboards clarifying this restriction have begun to be installed in the completed sections of the highway. The signboards explicitly state that two-wheelers, auto-rickshaws, tractors, and pedestrians are prohibited from using the national highway.
This restriction aligns with the existing policy on high-speed corridors across the country, where two-wheelers are generally not allowed. The same situation will prevail on NH-66. Vehicles barred from the national highway, including two-wheelers, will be required to use the service roads.
However, concerns are being raised that the service roads could become congested due to this restriction, especially considering that the width of NH-66 in Kerala was reduced from sixty meters to forty-five meters during construction, resulting in narrower service roads and medians.
The construction of the Kasaragod-Thiruvananthapuram NH-66 is progressing in 19 stretches. Only finishing touches remain on the Thalappady-Chengala, Vengalam-Ramanattukara, Ramanattukara-Valanchery, and Valanchery-Kappirikkad reaches. It is in these completed sections that the warning boards have been erected. The Kasaragod-Thiruvananthapuram NH-66, being built at a cost of ₹57,815 crore, will be a six-lane, signal-free corridor comprising over 400 flyovers and underpasses.