 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 KL SH 1 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byKerala Public Works Department | ||||
| Length | 240.6 km (149.5 mi) | |||
| Existed | 1790s–present | |||
| Component highways | National Highway 183 nearChengannur toKottayam | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end | Kesavadasapuram,Thiruvananthapuram | |||
| Major intersections | ||||
| North end |  NH 544 inAngamaly | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | India | |||
| State | Kerala | |||
| Districts | Thiruvananthapuram,Kollam,Pathanamthitta,Alappuzha,Kottayam,Ernakulam | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| State Highways in Kerala | ||||
| ||||
Kerala's State Highway 1 orKL SH 1, also known asMain Central Road orMC Road, is the arterial statehighway starting fromKesavadasapuram inThiruvananthapuram and ends atAngamaly, a suburb ofGreater Cochin inErnakulam district, in the state ofKerala, India. The highway was built byRaja Kesavadas, Dewan ofTravancore, in the 1790s. Plan for a new highway calledThiruvananthapuram–Angamaly Greenfield Highway, which runs parallel to the KL SH 1 is proposed and is under early stage of development.
This road starts fromNational Highway 66 atKesavadasapuram inThiruvananthapuram, the capital city ofKerala, and joins theNH544 atAngamaly[1]Ernakulam district. The KL SH 1 passes throughVenjaramoodu,Kilimanoor,Nilamel,Chadayamangalam,Ayoor,Kottarakkara,Enathu,Adoor,Pandalam,Chengannur,Tiruvalla,Changanassery,Kottayam,Ettumanoor,Kuravilangad,Monippally,Puthuvely,Koothattukulam,Meenkunnam,Muvattupuzha,Pezhakkappilly,Mannoor,Pulluvazhy,Perumbavoor andKalady. In addition, an MC bypass road linking thaikkad with Vettu road junction nearNH66 inKazhakoottam is also part of the road inThiruvananthapuram district. Before NH 544 was built throughAngamaly, KL SH 1 extended up to Karukutty village 6 km (3.7 mi) away fromAngamaly town in theChalakudy road. A section of this road betweenMulakuzha andKottayam is now upgraded as a section ofNH 183. KL SH 1 is a popular route to access the shrine ofSabarimala. It covers many important towns of Central and South Kerala.
The highway was built byRaja Kesavadas, the dewan of the Travancore Kingdom.The KL SH 1 was renovated under theWorld Bank aided 'Kerala State Transport Project (2006)'. The upgrading was carried out in two phases. Under phase 1, two stretches, Thaikkod (nearVenjarammoodu) –Chengannur andMuvattupuzha –Angamaly were upgraded and works were completed in 2010. In addition, a new road link toNH 66 has been completed between Thaikkad and Vettu road (nearKazhakootam inTrivandrum). In phase 2, theChengannur –Ettumanoor 47 km (29 mi) stretch was upgraded. The road has a total width of 10 metres (33 ft) and facilitates two-lane traffic. The road also have a 7-metre (23 ft) carriageway and a sealed shoulder, having width of 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in). The project also features protection walls and adequate drainage facilities. The construction of seven bridges has also been envisaged as part of the project. This includes the constructions at Neelimangalam, Manipuzha, Pannikuzhy, Arattukadavu, Illimala, Thondara, and Kallissery. In addition, three existing bridges along the route is also widened. The work was launched on 14 September 2014 and completed in 2018.[2]
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The Motor Vehicles Department, in partnership with the Kerala Road Safety Authority (KRSA) and the police has installed automatic traffic enforcement camera systems in betweenVenjaramoodu -Chengannur section of KL SH 1 for detecting speed violations of vehicles.[3]
