The work-in-progress six-lane National Highway-66 in Malappuram district has suffered a setback with the collapse of an elevated stretch at Kooriyad, near Tirurangadi, on Monday.
| Photo Credit: Sakeer Hussain
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has swung into firefighting by closing a stretch of National Highway-66 in Malappuram and constituting a two-member independent expert committee to study the collapse of an elevated stretch at Kooriyad, near Tirurangadi, on Monday .
The expert panel comprising geotechnical consultants Jimmy Thomas and Anil Dixit will examine the site on Wednesday. NHAI regional officer B.L. Meena said the panel would thoroughly examine the site and reasons for the caving in and submit a report.
NHAI officials have promised a permanent solution to address the growing concerns of the people about potential cracks and collapses in the newly constructed six-lane highway in the district, which is set to be inaugurated in a matter of days.
Mr. Meena said they would take further action on the basis of the expert committee’s recommendations. “The work of the 77-km stretch of the highway is almost completed in two-and-a-half years. The collapse of around 200-metre stretch at Kooriyad was unfortunate. We will take action against the contractor on the basis of the report,” Mr. Meena told The Hindu.
NHAI project director Anshul Sharma attended a meeting convened by District Collector V.R. Vinod at the Collectorate here on Tuesday. He reportedly assured the Collector, P.K. Kunhalikutty, MLA, and K. Abid Husain Thangal, MLA, that remedial measures would be formulated based on the expert team’s report.
What engineers say
According to NHAI engineers, the eight-metre-high embankment adjoining the service road in the low-lying paddy fields collapsed due to pressure from rainwater that seeped into the soil. The absence of a bitumen concrete layer on the elevated highway allowed the soil to absorb water, which then exerted pressure on the concrete side walls, ultimately causing them to push against the service road below.
NHAI officials denied that there was any engineering failure. Early rain before the completion of the top layer caused the accident, they said. However, they said rectification would be done as soon as possible. The service road will be reconstructed to resume vehicular traffic, they said.
The people had pushed for a flyover instead of an embankment. But the NHAI engineers countered that the issue was not the embankment itself, rather the unexpected heavy rainwater seepage that caused the problem. They added that if the top layer had been laid with bitumen, water seepage and the embankment collapse would have been prevented.
Published – May 20, 2025 06:16 pm IST
