NH-66 Safety Audit: Expert Panel Orders Replacement of Vulnerable Bridges at Three Key Spots

The safety audit of National Highway 66, conducted by IIT experts and geotechnical agencies following the Mylakkad overbridge collapse, has recommended replacing or reinforcing vulnerable Reinforced Earth (RE) overbridges at three critical locations. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) initiated a comprehensive safety audit of similar earth-filled structures along the stretch after the collapse.

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, had assured the Lok Sabha that public demands for replacing RE overbridges with pillar-supported structures would be evaluated, said N.K. Premachandran, MP.

Eight specialised geotechnical agencies were appointed to inspect soil stability and ground surfaces of all RE overbridges along NH-66. The investigation was supervised by a high-level committee comprising a professor and an associate professor from IIT Delhi, along with the Head of the Civil Engineering department at IIT Palakkad. After detailed field assessments, the panel submitted its recommendations, specifying locations where RE structures should be dismantled and replaced with pillar-supported flyovers, and retrofitting measures for structures that can be safely retained.

Based on the committee's findings, proposals have been submitted to NHAI to construct new pillar-supported overbridges at critical bottlenecks. This includes a 120-meter pillar bridge at Mylakkad, a 440-meter bridge at Kadavoor, and two 80-meter segments totalling 160 meters on both sides at Mevaram.

The panel also recommended extending existing pillar flyovers on both the Neendakara and Shaktikulangara sides of the Neendakara bridge, with the Neendakara side extension reaching up to the vehicular underpass. Further modifications have been proposed for Chavara, where the pillar overbridges on both sides of the Chavara bridge and the KMML underpass are recommended for extension.

“These comprehensive safety and structural upgrade proposals are currently under the final consideration of the NHAI,” said Mr. Premachandran.