What happened: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has said service roads will be added near Kota Vivek High School, Sastana bus stand and the Sastana toll plaza on National Highway 66 in Udupi, Karnataka. The work is meant to give local traffic a safer parallel route beside the main highway, but the reports do not announce an opening date or a traffic diversion.
The development also includes a request for a discounted toll pass for vehicle owners living within 20 km of the Hejamadi and Sastana plazas. That pass is not an approved new exemption or fee revision: it was sought during a meeting involving Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP Kota Srinivas Poojary, and road users should wait for an official notification before treating it as available.
Key takeaways
- NHAI plans service-road connections near the Kota school area, Sastana bus stand and Sastana toll plaza on NH 66.
- Reports say service-road approvals are being handled in phases along the Hejamadi–Kundapura stretch.
- The Santekatte service road is to be widened to 7.5 metres, according to the meeting reports.
- A discounted local pass within 20 km of Hejamadi and Sastana toll plazas was requested, but no rate, start date or application process has been announced.
- Underpass, pedestrian-crossing and black-spot safety measures remain works to be followed, not completed changes for drivers today.
What NHAI has reported for NH 66
The Hindu reported on 7 November that NHAI Regional Officer Vilas P. Brahmankar confirmed plans for service roads at the three Kota and Sastana locations. The report said service roads are already being built at some other points, including Koteshwara, Tekkatte and Brahmavara, while approvals for more sections between Hejamadi and Kundapura are being processed in phases.
Vijayavani’s 6 November report, based on the meeting at the NHAI regional office, carried the same core update. It said the service roads near Kota Vivek High School, the Sastana bus stand and the toll plaza would begin soon, while the broader service-road plan is intended to cover local access along the corridor. Neither report gives a construction completion date for these three locations.
For drivers, “planned” matters. A service road can reduce the need for short local trips to enter the high-speed carriageway, but it only changes the journey after the connecting sections, junction treatments, signs and crossings are actually open. Until then, the present road layout and any on-site instructions continue to apply.
Why the service roads matter to local traffic
NH 66 carries through traffic along the Karnataka coast while also serving schools, bus stops, homes, shops and toll-plaza access. These movements have different speeds and turning patterns. A continuous or better-connected service road can keep short local trips away from the main carriageway and make it easier for buses, pedestrians and residents to reach the side road without crossing fast-moving traffic unnecessarily.
The reported locations are therefore more specific than a general highway upgrade. The Kota school area and Sastana bus stand are local access points; the Sastana toll plaza is where through traffic and nearby residents meet the tolling system. The expected benefit is smoother separation of those movements, not an immediate reduction in the toll charged to a car travelling through the plaza.
There is no new toll tariff in the two reports. Drivers travelling through Udupi, Mangaluru or Kundapura can still use the toll-charge calculator to estimate the route’s existing toll component, then check the final FASTag deduction against the plaza’s current information.
The local toll-pass request is still pending
The meeting included a request for discounted passes for vehicle owners within 20 km of the Hejamadi and Sastana toll plazas. The request responds to the repeated short trips made by residents who use the highway for work, school, healthcare and local services. It does not state a final price, vehicle-class rule, validity period or digital application channel.
This is separate from the national digital Local Pass facility covered in NHAI’s broader FASTag programme. The FASTag annual pass versus local pass guide explains why the two products should not be treated as interchangeable. For this NH 66 request, the useful trigger for drivers will be a formal notification identifying eligibility, the exact plaza, the amount payable and the date from which the pass can be used.
Other safety works mentioned in the meeting
The reports also discuss widening the Santekatte service road to 7.5 metres. They mention a feasibility review for an underpass at Saligrama cross, where pedestrians visiting nearby temples need to cross the highway, and a change being considered for a pedestrian overpass near Tenka-Ermalu. These items are at different stages, so they should not be read as a single completed project.
The meeting also covered fencing and safety treatment at accident-prone points and the need for traffic signals. Such measures can reduce conflict points, but their effect depends on design, installation and enforcement. A driver passing through the corridor should not assume that a proposed service road or crossing is open simply because the project has been reported.
What changes now for road users
- For through drivers: there is no reported immediate toll change or confirmed closure. Follow the signs and traffic personnel at each work location when construction begins.
- For local residents: the 20-km pass remains a request. Keep using the existing toll and FASTag arrangements until NHAI or the concessionaire publishes eligibility and pricing.
- For buses and fleets: service-road openings and junction changes may affect stop access and travel time. Check local traffic advisories before scheduling a tight trip.
- For trip planning: compare route time and tolls in the road-trip planner, and estimate fuel separately with the fuel-cost calculator when the corridor is part of a longer coastal journey.
What to watch next
The next useful updates will be practical rather than headline-level: a work order or construction schedule for the three named access points; a traffic advisory when lanes or junctions change; and a toll-pass notification stating the local radius, eligible vehicle classes, amount and validity. Until those details arrive, the NHAI announcement is a planned infrastructure improvement, not a live route or toll-rule change.
Reader takeaway: NH 66 users near Kota and Sastana have a potentially useful service-road upgrade to track, especially if they make frequent short trips around the school, bus stand or toll plaza. Long-distance drivers should not assume lower tolls or faster travel yet; the immediate task is to follow current road instructions and verify any future local-pass notice before relying on it.
