The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has taken the step of suspending its project director and site engineer following the collapse of a segment of National Highway 66 at Kooriyad in Malappuram on May 19.Furthermore, a committee was established on May 24 to examine other potentially at-risk sites featuring Reinforced Soil Walls and Slope Protection Works across 17 ongoing NH-66 projects in Kerala. A three-member expert panel, headed by a retired professor from IIT-Delhi, had previously visited the site of the collapse on May 21 to evaluate the failure and recommend corrective actions. Initial findings suggested that the collapse was due to the foundation soil’s failure to support the substantial embankment load.The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has indicated that the contractor, KNR Constructions, made significant mistakes during the construction process. Investigations have shown that the soil conditions were not properly evaluated and that land reinforcement was overlooked.In light of these findings, KNR Constructions has been barred from participating in future bids for a period of up to one year and has been fined ₹20 lakh. Additionally, the company has been instructed to remove the debris and reconstruct the damaged structure—a new flyover—at their own cost, which is estimated to be around ₹80 crore.In a related incident, a section of the retaining wall along the same stretch of NH-66 at Kooriyad has collapsed once more. Cracks have emerged in several other areas of the service road in the vicinity. Due to the persistent heavy rainfall, water has flooded adjacent paddy fields.
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