Overview

• Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan launched construction to create a new Kozhikode–Wayanad link that offers an alternative to the often-disrupted Thamarassery Ghat road.
• The 8.73 km alignment includes about 8.11 km of twin tunnels and is expected to reduce the Anakkampoyil–Meppadi journey by roughly 22 km and about 1.5 hours.
• The state has sanctioned about ₹2,134–2,143 crore via KIIFB, with Dilip Buildcon engaged for tunnel excavation and Royal Infrastructure assigned the approach roads.
• Planned features include ventilation, firefighting units, CCTV, tunnel radio, escape-route lighting, emergency call systems, traffic signals, and cross-passages every 300 metres.
• The tunnel received conditional environmental clearance in June after SEAC cited landslide risk in the Western Ghats, with opposition from some environmental groups.