Collapsing roads and retaining walls of newly developed NH stretches in Kerala cause concern among residents

On December 5 afternoon, motorists and other passengers on the service road beneath the under-construction National Highway 66 stretch at Mylakkadu in Kollam were jolted by the sudden disintegration of the Reinforced Soil (RS) wall of the embankment, which spewed soil and rubble onto the road. As they ran for their lives abandoning their vehicles, it seemed like the repeat of a similar collapse at Kooriyad in Malappuram earlier. The incidents raise questions over the safety of the RS structures built and being built at various parts of the State. Experts and residents say lack of rigorous soil testing and inadequate geotechnical investigation are the primary causes of the collapses