Traffic rate is part of the rise of NH-66 caves in Kooriyad

Aerial view of the national expressway of Kooriyad National Expressway that closed on Monday. |Photo source: Sakkeer Hussain

An elevated national highway built in Kooriyad near Tirurangadi on Monday afternoon was under construction, causing injuries to several motorists and disrupting vehicle traffic between Kakkad and Thalappara.

The part of the expressway across the Paddy field in Kooriyad was in trouble and damaged three cars down the service road for about 30 feet. The passenger ran to cover when the boulders and debris fell from a height. Six of them were slightly injured.

The collapse caused severe damage to service roads on both sides of the expressway due to deep cracks. The soil on the elevated section also dropped. Remind local residents away from them expressed concerns about weak road construction in low-lying areas and warned of potential further collapse.

Traffic on the expressway is transferred from VK Padi to Mamburam. National Expressway officials said it would take several days to restore traffic through the National Expressway 66 in Kooriyad.

MLA’s KPA Majeed visited the site and requested an investigation into the situation that caused the highway to collapse. He accused unscientific construction of the cause of the collapse.

“We have repeatedly reminded the NH authorities of the unscientific approach to establishing poor quality embankments in low-lying areas like Kooriyad. They have completely ignored our requests and warnings. Last year, when it started raining, the building witnessed the same attitude.

Local residents are also suspected of poor quality in the construction of highways. Despite the collapse of several parts of the elevated service road along NH 66 in Malapuram District after rain last year, the Kooriyad collapse has been the biggest so far.

“This time, several people escaped minor injuries. The highway crash looked so bad that those motorists could be life-threatening.”

BJP state executive member KK Surendran demanded an investigation into the collapse. He said severe actions should be taken against the person in charge.

Mr Surendran asked a senior team of the National Highway Authority of India to visit the website urgently and conduct a fact-finding. “Investigations should check whether the crash is due to unscientific construction, technical error or vandalism,” he said.