Thiruvananthapuram: Land acquisition for widening of Vazhayila- Pazhakutty-Nedumangad road is all set to begin.The district administration has issued notification for acquisition of land for widening of the stretch to 21 metres.Simultaneously, the Kerala infrastructure investment fund board (KIIFB), which funds and executes the project, has invited tender for planting boundary stones in the stretch. Around 23 acres is required for widening the 11.2km stretch.With the widening of the stretch, the commuters in the city and also those coming from Tamil Nadu via the Karamana-Kaliyikkavila stretch will get better connectivity to the Kollam-Thenmala road. The stretch will also act as a tourism circuit by providing better connectivity to tourist spots like Ponmudi and Braemore. A 12-km stretch in the area which will be improved as part of Hill Highway project will ensure better connectivity.Currently, the city roads till Vazhayila were widened to 21 metres under City Roads Improvement Project. The initial plan was to widen the remaining stretch till Pazhakutty to 24 metres. However, the alignment was revised to 21 metres to minimize land acquisition. The current average width of the stretch is 12 metres.The design speed has been fixed as 65kmph. Though there was a demand to revise alignment to reduce design speed to 45kmph, a high-level committee rejected the proposal, sources said.The initial estimate of the project was Rs 389 crore. The land acquisition cost alone is Rs 59 crore, which was sanctioned by KIIFB recently. The estimate of the project too has been revised to Rs 415 crore.PWD officials said that a detailed soil investigation and preparation of detailed project report have been completed. “We plan to acquire minimum land without compromising on design parameters. All road safety parameters including proper road markings and sign boards will be ensured. Modern techniques such as use of shredded plastic, rubber and geotextiles will be used in road construction,” said PWD officials. The DPR has suggested a flyover at Koottappara where the presence of transmission pipes of Kerala water authority pose a hurdle for road works.Sources said the district administration officials will conduct survey to begin land acquisition process. The work will be executed by a project implementation wing (PIU) under KIIFB. The PIU plans to start works once 80% of encumbrance-free land is handed over.Meanwhile, a section of people has begun protest against land acquisition.

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