As part of the attempt to ease the traffic hold-ups caused by the ongoing construction work of Kochi Metro Rail, restrictions will be imposed on the entry of container trucks into the city from July 25 onwards, said P.I. Sheikh Pareeth, District Collector.
Alternative routes
After July 25, all container trucks coming from Alappuzha and Kottayam sides should reach Willingdon Island along Kundanoor and use the ro-ro ferry service to reach the Vallarpadom container road.
Vehicles coming from Aluva side should take Vallarpadom container road and then ro-ro ferry service to reach the container station at Willingdon Island and proceed to other districts. As part of this, the ro-ro ferry service will be streamlined.
Traffic diversion
It is estimated that 400 container trucks use the Kundannur-Kalamassery National Highway on an average every day.
All these will be diverted along the Vallarpadom container road.
The district administration is hoping that diversion of the container traffic might ease the hold-ups to some extent.
Ferry service
As many as 20 containers can be moved in a single trip of ro-ro ferry service. Cochin Port Trust (CPT) officials said that 25 such trips can be operated in a day.
The meeting convened by the District Collector to decide on the ferry service was attended by police, CPT and Motor Vehicles Department officials.
