DMRC’s Principal Advisor E. Sreedharan was among those who visited Kochi Metro’s barricaded site at MG Road’s north end where piling began on Thursday.
Traffic moved in either direction in single lane even as piling was on. Mr. Sreedharan travelled through the Aluva-Vyttila stretch of the metro corridor, to oversee test piling and piling under way on the stretch. He also visited the casting yard at HMT, Kalamassery, and the site for the proposed coach-maintenance yard at Muttom.
Traffic bottleneck
Among the four reaches of the metro, the Ernakulam South-Pettah one is considered the most narrow and busy section. While Kochi Corporation is yet to decide on widening the narrow South overbridge, KWA has not yet begun laying pipelines through SA Road. Metro works are expected to be further delayed since PWD has been unable to widen Vyttila-Pettah Road.
Meanwhile, barricading is almost over at Kaloor, where the piling for metro’s first station is expected to begin in a few days.
NH widening
On Wednesday, a committee constituted by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways consisting of Project Chief Engineer (Ministry of Road Transport and Highways) Nahar; KMRL’s Director Projects Mahesh Kumar and NHAI Project Director – Palakkad P. Ramanathan held discussions.
The conducted a detailed site visit along the Aluva- Edappally stretch of National Highway 47 to settle issues related to permission required from NHAI for constructing metro’s viaduct along the central median of the NH.
Matters such as ensuring four-lane width of the road during construction, erecting barricades and the width of the road after construction of viaduct were the key points of discussion. “The discussion was very positive and we are hopeful about finalising all aspects very soon,” said Elias George, MD, KMRL.
Moreover, over a dozen global firms participated in a pre-bid meeting for selecting the consultant for “Safety and Quality monitoring” for the Kochi Metro held at KMRL office. The meeting was held to answer queries relating to the qualifications and criteria of selection.
