The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : Unfinished roads hindering traffic

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 08, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Kerala

Kerala - Kochi

Unfinished roads hindering traffic

Staff Reporter

The two roads are Padma Junction-NH Bypass, Thevara-Thykoodam Bund

Photo: Vipin Chandran

A BRIDGE TOO FAR: The unfinished Pullepady bridge is among the reasons for the delay in throwing open the Padma Junction-NH bypass road. The Railways have been unable to resume the bridge work three years after work came to a standstill. —

KOCHI: The Padma Junction-NH Bypass Road and the Thevara-Thykoodam Bund Road remain a far cry, around two decades since they were conceived.

The two roads would have linked the northern and southern parts of M G Road with NH 47, thus ensuring better east-west road connectivity in the city. They would also have considerably eased traffic congestion on the MG Road, the Sahodaran Aiyyappan Road and the Palarivattom-Madhava Pharmacy Junction stretch of the Banerjee Road.

Though a fair amount of work on acquiring land for the two roads is over, many bottlenecks remain. The Railway’s delay in completing the 25-metre portion connecting the two approach spans of the Pullepady bridge is cited as one among the reasons for the delay in completing the four-lane road connecting Padma Junction with the NH bypass at Chakkaraparambu. The Padma Junction, numerous stretches on the road that connects it to the Pullepady bridge and the Karanakodam bridge need widening.

“The road would considerably reduce commuting time in the city. But it would be useless till the Pullepady bridge is completed. Once ready, people will be able to skip the narrow bridges at Ernakulam North and South and travel freely to any part of the city,” says Benny Joseph, State convener of Janapaksham and a Katrikadavu resident. Apart from the delay of the opening of the bridge, the Railways have closed the level crossing at Pullepady, obstructing the movement of vehicles, he said.

The Corporation of Cochin is citing shortage of funds to complete the project. Deputy Mayor C. K. Manisankar said that the Corporation would soon clear bottlenecks on the road, so that it could be thrown open to traffic once the Railways completed work on the Pullepady bridge.

The road could ultimately be extended up to the Airport-Seaport Road, to ensure better connectivity from the city to Infopark and proposed Smart City.

Bund Road

The proposed two-lane Bund Road connecting Thevara with Thykoodam too would run parallel to the SA Road. It would decongest the S A Road, the southern side of M G Road, the South bridge and Vytilla Junction. The Greater Cochin Development Authority has so far been unable to throw open the road because of opposition from some landowners. Around 600-metres more of land has to be acquired on the western side and 200 metres on the Thykoodam side, for the road to be 10-metres wide.

“In the first phase, the road from Thykoodam in the highway would meet K P Vallon Road. From there, it has to be extended up to Panampilly Nagar and then through a bridge across the rails to the northern side of Thevara Junction,” said Senior Town Planner of the Authority V. Gopalakrishna Pillai.

The Authority held three rounds of discussions with land owners and apartment builders for developing the road. Many people expressed willingness to surrender land free of cost. The project which had been included in the urban-renewal project, has presently been kept in abeyance after some people raised the allegation that it is aimed at helping some builders. From Thykoodam, the road could well be extended up to Champakkara, by widening the road that runs parallel to the Champakkara canal.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Kerala