With the first phase of Seaport-Airport Road widening nearing completion, authorities are gearing up for an anti-encroachment drive on the remaining areas of the 13-kilometre-long stretch.
“The widening of the two-kilometre road between HMT Junction and Bharathamatha College at Thrikkakkara is almost complete and we expect to begin four-laning up to Ernakulam Collectorate in two weeks’ time. Steps will be taken to evict the large number of street vendors who have encroached upon the sideways of the road,” said a senior official with the Roads and Bridges Corporation of Kerala (RBDCK).
As part of it, the authorities will carry out a survey along the stretch to identify the encroachments before commencing the widening works. Though land is available at 30-metre width up to Karingachira in the southern end, only Rs. 25 crore has been sanctioned for works totalling Rs. 212 crore and the agency is exploring the possibility of receiving Central aid for completing the work.
Commenting on the issue, R. Venugopal, Chairman, Tripunithura Municipality, said sideways of the road in areas near Irumpanam and Cochin Special Economic Zone had been usurped by commercial establishments, who had extended their shops to pavements by four to five feet. The presence of these illegal traders also resulted in haphazard parking, he said.
Earlier in October, a meeting of the District Development Committee directed the RBDCK and the Public Works Department to take steps to evict the street hawkers located on the pavements of the road.
Meanwhile, the agency is set to begin acquisition of land between Kalamassery and Naval Armament Depot for the second phase of the road with the State government allotting Rs.136 crore for the road’s extension. It has already completed the sub-structures of the 613-metre and 195-metre bridges across Periyar River, which connect Aluva and Thuruth and Thuruth and Chowara respectively.
The total cost of this stretch, which also includes a 200-metre road, is estimated to be Rs.26.16 crore and the works are scheduled to be completed by July 2015.
