The second tunnel at Kuthiran was opened for traffic on Thursday. The tunnel was opened as part of traffic diversion for speeding up road repair works at Kuthiran.
The tunnel was opened at 12.35 p.m. after a review of the safety measures by a team led by District Collector Haritha V. Kumar and City Police Commissioner R. Adithya.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had given a letter to the Collector on Wednesday asking to open the second tunnel on January 20, for speeding up road repair works. Following this, Public Works Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas convened a meeting of the three ministers from the district and officials and a decision was taken to open the tunnel for traffic.
The meeting asked the NHAI to ensure all safety measures while opening the second tunnel for traffic. The support facilities, including the approach roads, should be completed in a time bound manner. Sufficient lighting also should be provided. The ministers and MPs will visit the tunnel to monitor the progress of the works.
The tunnel is expected to be fully functional with all support facilities in two months, the Collector said.
Vehicles from Thrissur to Palakkad will move through the second tunnel. Earlier vehicles towards both sides were passing through the first tunnel.
The decision to open the second tunnel was taken as part of traffic diversion and permission for collecting toll has not been given, said Mr. Riyas. A decision on collecting toll will be taken only after finishing 90% of the works.
