Thrissur: One of the twin tunnels in Kuthiran has opened for traffic here on Saturday following the central government’s announcement. The tunnel stretching from Palakkad to Thrissur was opened around 7.30 pm on Saturday. Thrissur district collector Haritha V Kumar officially opened the tunnel for traffic.

The opening of one tunnel at Kuthiran will solve the traffic block on the Thrissur-Palakkad highway.

With the completion of the tunnel, commuters from Coimbatore to Kochi or vice versa will be able to reduce travel time.

Kuthiran tunnel is the first road tunnel in the state. 

Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari announced the opening of one tunnel through his Twitter page on Saturday. 

"We will open one side of the Kuthiran Tunnel in Kerala today. This is the first road tunnel in the state and will drastically improve connectivity to Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The 1.6 km long tunnel is designed through Peechi- Vazahani wildlife sanctuary," tweeted the minister.

The officials were directed to open the road tunnel by avoiding inauguration.