The flyover beginning at the Panjappura junction and leading down to the underpass is a motorist’s delight. It can also become a nightmare in a second.
It may be normal for a motorist to tread on the accelerator when faced with a stretch of empty road. But on top of the flyover, the majority of those who burn the asphalt are bus drivers. And herein lies the danger.
Buses swinging on to the wrong lane as they attempt to speed past another one is a common sight here. This is as true of the drivers of Kerala State Road Transport Corporation and private buses as those of the hi-tech long-haul buses that do inter-State services.
When this happens, the drivers of cars and motorbikes are forced to slam on the brakes and swerve out of the way of the oncoming bus. Often, this is a close call since the flyover is only two-lanes wide.
Things take a turn for the worse before they get better. It’s an overused adage that can be applied to all sorts of uncomfortable life situations. One such situation could be while a person is travelling along the Vanchiyoor-Uppidamoodu stretch of road in the city.
The road widening here is part of City Road Improvement Project of the Kerala Road Fund Board, one proposed over two years ago. First, there was opposition from environmentalists over the proposal to cut down 64 trees along the stretch. The project was revised, and it was decided to maintain most of the trees as a median. It was in April 2013 that these developments took place. At the fag end of 2014, the road is still potholed, narrow, and increasingly congested.
But Health Minister V.S. Sivakumar recently promised that the work would be completed by March 2015. Over the past few days, workers have started constructing box culverts along the Amayizhanjan canal. While the round-the-clock presence of the workers is a sign that things are progressing, perhaps the authorities should consider placing better warning signs and reflectors to help night drivers. A detour route and prohibiting parking along the District Court wall would help ease the traffic during rush hour.
(Reporting by G. Mahadevan and Kaavya Pradeep Kumar)
