The four-lane Mulavukad-Kalamassery Container Road is all set to be opened to motorists from April 30.
The revised Rs. 971-crore agreement with Soma Constructions expires on the day. All amenities, except a toll plaza envisaged in Mulavukad, will be ready by then. Work on the plaza was held up following protests from residents who demanded a pair of service roads parallel to the Container Road.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) was criticised for the inordinate delay in completing four-laning works despite the Vallarpadam container transshipment terminal having been commissioned in 2011. This and the near-absent street-lighting caused a spree of accidents during the past few years on what was a narrow, two-lane stretch.
Sources associated with the project said the installation of lights was not mentioned in the agreement with the contractor. “Streetlights can be installed at a later stage on road kerbs. Cat’s-eye reflectors that do not need power but guide motorists through the correct lane during night are another cost-effective option. But all road markings will be done by April 30.”
Reflectors
In the wake of a number of accidents, median-marker reflectors will be installed along the 17-km-long road. Reflectors will be fixed on guard posts as well. A few other safety measures worth Rs. 50 lakh too will be carried out before the monsoon.
Both the builder firm and project consultant had come under fire for the Vallarpadam parallel bridge and the Kothad bridge suffering major damage within months of being opened to traffic.
On container lorries defying the District Collector’s ban on parking along the Container Road, NHAI’s Kochi project director C.T. Abraham said, “Port stakeholders must provide alternative parking space for lorries.”
