A part of Kadavanthra Junction will be out of bounds for vehicles for a few more months, as barricades have been erected for the Kochi metro’s civil work here.
Though barricades were erected along the length of the junction on Friday, modifications are likely to ensure minimum difficulty to motorists and pedestrians.
Soma Constructions, the civil contractor of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), was keen on completely barricading the junction so that work on the four pillars at the junction could be carried out at one go. “We advised them [Soma Constructions] to work on one or two pillars at a time, as traffic would be thrown into disarray if the full length of the junction is covered with barricades. There are no wide, alternative roads to divert traffic from the junction,” said Arul R.B. Krishna, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order, Traffic).
The police took the decision after irate motorists and pedestrians complained of the hassles they encountered on Saturday after the junction was fully barricaded.
Metro sources said they had barricaded Kadavanthra Junction after taking permission from the police.
“The hydraulic rig and piling equipment need adequate space. A pillar has to be built on the western side of the junction and three pillars east of it,” they added.
While a major chunk of the metro’s civil work is over on the 2.7-km-long SA Road, works are yet to commence in the vicinity of Manorama, Kadavanthra, and Vyttila junctions.
“It will take another eight months to complete the pending civil work on a 400-metre-long metro viaduct on SA Road. Construction of stations will take another five months, which means several parts of SA Road will remain barricaded for a year more,” metro sources said.
Vyttila chaosMr. Krishna expressed apprehension over the potential traffic chaos around Vyttila when barricades are put up for piling for the metro’s civil work.
The traffic police have requested the NHAI and the PWD to construct roads linking service roads with a wide underpass that can be developed on the northern side of the existing narrow underpass on the southern side of the Vyttila bridge, he said. “Steps will be taken to make maximum use of available space at the junction,” Mr Krishna said.
