The work on the Ponnurunni overbridge is going on in full swing and the bridge is expected to be thrown open in September.
The Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala (RBDCK) had set a deadline of 15 months to complete the bridge. Once commissioned, the bridge would provide commuters in the Palarivattom-Vyttila direction an alternative road to the NH 47 bypass which is getting congested by the day. Commuters travelling in the north-south direction would not have to wait on end for the green signal at the Palarivattom and Vyttila junctions on the bypass, once the bridge is ready.
The PWD is widening the road south of the bridge so that vehicles can travel up to Vyttila without encountering snarls. Discounting allegations that buses and heavy vehicles coming from Subhash Bose Road would not be able to cross over to the eastern side of the Palarivattom-Vyttila Road, RBDCK sources said that the bridge would have a vertical clearance of around four metres from the road, at the junction where the road meets the bridge.
“It would have a clearance of 6.50 metres near the railway line. The bridge's length has been increased so that there is ample vertical clearance for heavy vehicles at the junction immediately south of it,” said RBDCK sources. Vehicles would be able to go in either direction through the service roads on either side of the bridge.
The agency is awaiting the approval of Southern Railway's safety commissioner for the ‘staging design' (the bridge's design over the railway track). Speed restriction for trains too would have to be imposed when work is on and any delay in obtaining the Railway's permission would delay the commissioning of the bridge.
A PWD official said that the Kerala Water Authority's delay in completing the pipeline-laying works at Thammanam has held up widening and resurfacing work of the Palarivattom-Thammanam Road. “We were ready to clear encroachments on the road, widen and resurface the stretch at Rs.1.50 crore. The KWA's delay has held up the work.”
He added that the Kochi Corporation must widen the narrow stretch from the Pullepady bridge to Thammanam and also the 600 metres long road that links Thammanam with Chakkaraparambu on the NH bypass. This would in turn enhance east-west connectivity.
Atlantis overbridge
As for the delay in kick-starting construction of the Atlantis overbridge, RBDCK sources said the Kochi Corporation has to acquire land for the purpose. “Land required for the construction has been frozen; the general-arrangement drawings have been submitted to the Railways. Their approval is awaited.”
