Kerala - Kochi   

Junctions along NH bypass to get a facelift

John L. Paul

Vytilla and Palarivattom junctions to become more user-friendly

CONFUSION JUNCTION: It is a week since a tipper lorry knocked down a traffic lamp post at Vytilla junction in the city. Since then, traffic policemen have been forced to manage traffic, standing under the hot sun. Despite their best efforts, chaos pr evails at the junction, especially during peak hours. Photo: Mahesh Harilal

KOCHI: Four major junctions along the NH bypass from Edapally to Kundanoor will soon get a facelift. Apart from the two major junctions located at the extreme end, Vytilla Junction and the busy Palarivattom Junction too will become more user-friendly in four to five months time. The improvement will be brought about by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), in the face of increasing complaints from motorists that they have to wait for four to six signal changes to cross a junction.

Now, they have to wait at each junction for six to eight minutes, especially during peak hours. A case in point is the Edapally bypass junction, where motorists from and towards Aluva have to wait for several minutes to cross over. Project director of the NHAI Srinivasulu Naidu said three agencies were in charge of the roads, which converge at the junction. The road (NH 17) towards Amrita Hospital is being maintained by the Public Works Department (PWD) (NH) and the one towards Palarivattom (NH 47) by the PWD (Roads and Bridges). The NHAI is in charge of the roads towards Aluva and Alappuzha.

"It is difficult to widen the free left-turn towards Alappuzha (because of the nearby bridge) and towards Amrita Hospital. We are thinking of means to solve the problem, but motorists going towards Palarivattom should cooperate by occupying the two lanes of the junction, leaving the reserve lane for vehicles to take the free-left turn. The Palarivattom bypass junction is being given priority. The bottlenecks here will be removed in three to four months. The sanction for widening the junction is expected in a month's time," he said.

There is ample unused space on all four sides to widen the junction. All that is needed are steps to relocate the footpath to the side. Another problem here is the unavailability of traffic lights in the central medians. It is another matter that the medians are not aligned. Road markings are absent. As of now, a chaotic situation prevails in Vytilla junction after a tipper lorry knocked down a traffic lamppost a week ago. Traffic policemen have to manage thousands of vehicles, which cross the intersection every day.

Moving over to the Kundanoor Junction, Mr. Naidu assured that the bottlenecks here will be lightened once the roads on either side are made four-lane.

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