New Path to Progress; Final Clearance for Wayanad Tunnel Road

Kozhikode: The long-awaited dream of the people living along the hillside, the tunnel road from Aanakkampoyil to Kalladi Meppadi, has received Stage 2 clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Public Works Minister P. A. Mohammed Riyas announced that the final clearance for the tunnel construction project has been granted. Once the project is completed, travel from Aanakkampoyil in Kozhikode to Meppadi in Wayanad will become faster. The project, which is part of the KIIFB scheme, is set to be built at a cost of Rs 2,134.5 crores and will be a four-lane road.

The total length of the tunnel is 8.73 kilometers, with 5.58 kilometers in Wayanad and 3.15 kilometers in Kozhikode. Of this, 8.1 kilometers will be double tunnels. The project is expected to be completed within 60 months. The LDF government views this project as a major step towards the overall development of both Kozhikode and Wayanad's hilly regions. The project will open up new opportunities in tourism, agriculture, and trade. It will also provide a faster route to Wayanad without the winding roads of the Thamarassery Ghat.

Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) is the implementing agency, and the work on the main road leading to the tunnel entrance has begun. The project has secured the necessary environmental clearance before entering the tender stage. The LDF government, with its determination, has pushed forward this much-needed project. For many years, travelers have had to navigate the Thamarassery Ghat, an important trade route connecting Kerala to Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu. The Ghat often faces severe traffic congestion, and the development of the route has been hampered by various challenges.

In the election manifesto released ahead of the 2016 Legislative Assembly elections, the LDF proposed the idea of constructing a tunnel road from Aanakkampoyil in Kozhikode to Kalladi in Meppadi, Wayanad. The project gained traction in the first hundred days of the first Pinarayi Vijayan government in 2016. The subsequent efforts and determination by the government have breathed life into the tunnel project.