Kochi Bypass

Kochi Bypass
Kochi Bypass near Vyttila
Route information
Length	17 km (11 mi)
Existed	1980s–present
Major junctions
From	Edapally
To	Aroor
Location
Country	India
Highway system
Roads in India Expressways National State Asian

The Kochi Bypass is a segment of National Highway 66 that bypasses the CBD of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India. The highway stretches 17 km from Edapally in the Ernakulam district to Aroor in Alappuzha district, via Palarivattom, Vyttila, Kundannoor, Madavana and Kumbalam. The Government of Kerala began the preliminary works in 1973.^[1] After a slow progress, it was partially opened for traffic in the beginning years of the 1980s. The section between Edapally and Vyttila had four lanes from the beginning. The rest of the carriageway was also upgraded to different sections of 4 lane, 5 lane and 6 lanes by 2010.^[2]

Initially conceived as an idea to bypass the truck traffic out of the city, the city has now outgrown the bypass leading to a heavy suburban traffic. Today, this road has turned out to be the most important arterial road in Kochi. The spacious road is going to replace the MG Road as the state's major commercial avenue in a few years time. Space crunch has really started to take a toll on the MG Road, and the NH Bypass provides answer to all the problems faced by the former. Bypass Road has enough width to make the entire stretch into 6 lane with service roads and a median. This 17-km stretch of road running across the city has become the hub of business for the city. This road Edapally - Aroor bypass is expected to slowly overtake MG road as the commercial hotspot of Kochi City and also Kerala state.

The S.A. Road & Kaniyampuzha Road connects the stretch with Vyttila Mobility Hub (said to be the biggest & most important transport hub of Kochi and one of the largest bus terminals in India).