The two-lane Kollam Bypass road was inaugurated on 15 January by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The road is witnessing heavy traffic congestion since its opening. In January 2019, the
Government of Kerala and NHAI have decided to widen the road into 45 meters. As per the plan, Kollam Bypass would become a four-lane road with overbridges at Mevaram, Kavanad and underpassages at Ayathil, Kallumthazham and Kadavoor junctions.[8]
Timeline
Year
Events
1972
Proposal for constructing NH Bypass road at Kollam and stone laid in February at Kavanad
1975
Token amount allotted for Kollam Bypass project
1978
Permission received from
Central Road Ministry on 3 May to construct NH Bypass in Kollam city
1993
3 km long
Mevaram-
Ayathil stretch of Kollam Bypass completed (Phase-I - Construction cost: ₹3.75cr)
1999
1.5 km long
Ayathil-
Kallumthazham stretch of Kollam Bypass completed (Phase-II - Construction cost: ₹2.75cr)
2015
Works on 8.6 km long
Kallumthazham-
Kavanad stretch started on 27 May 2015 (Phase-III - Construction cost: ₹277.24cr)
2019
Kollam Bypass inaugurated on 15 January by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Project Details
Length: 13.14 km
Total Construction Cost: ₹3,520,000,000 (US$44 million) (Phase-III: ₹2,772,435,655 (US$35 million))
Construction Mode: Engineering Procurement Construction(EPC)
Government of India has granted approval for Kollam bypass, a joint venture of the State and the Central governments in January 2015.[14][15]
Chief Minister of KeralaOommen Chandy signed an agreement with a private company on 11 February 2015 to complete the works within 30 months. The total cost for works would be Rs. 352 crore. The
Government of Kerala has added the Kollam bypass project to its list of mega projects.[16]
Cherian Varkey Construction Company(CVCC)-RDS is the contractor for the project. Same company is responsible for the execution of Alappuzha Bypass also. It was an EPC Contract for the construction of 2 Lane Bypass.
Preliminary works for Kollam bypass has been commenced again on 4 March 2015 after a long gap. Currently, clearing of the way for bypass is going on here. Re-aligning of telephone cables, water pipelines and KSEB feeder lines will commence soon as part of this work.[17]
Mr. Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways and
Kerala Chief Minister Mr.
Oommen Chandy have jointly inaugurated the third phase construction work of Kollam bypass on 10 April 2015.[18][19]
26 November 2017 is the final deadline for the completion of Kollam Bypass. If the construction company fails to meet the deadline, a fine will be imposed on the company based on the delayed days.[20]
The construction work comes to a standstill due to the insufficiency of gravel. - October 2016[21]
In July 2017, Central Minister
Pon Radhakrishnan announced that Kollam Bypass work would be completed only by August 2018 due to the scarcity of construction materials and soil to fill the land.[22] Also, Kollam MP
N. K. Premachandran announced that the bypass road will be commissioned in August 2018.[23]
Government of Kerala hopes to open Kollam Bypass by September 2018.[24]
Kollam bypass will be ready in a month. Street lights would be installed throughout the stretch. - 25 October 2018[25]
Prime Minister's office confirmed with Kollam MP
N. K. Premachandran that
Narendra Modi will inaugurate Kollam Bypass on 15 January 2019 - 9 January 2019[27][28]
Union Minister
Nitin Gadkari gave assurance to Kollam MP
N. K. Premachandran regarding Kollam Bypass widening into four lane as a standalone project soon - 1 August 2020[30]