Chief Minister Oommen Chandy inaugurated a rail overbridge at Koyilandy on Saturday. The 1.2-km bridge was constructed by the Roads and Bridges Development Corporation (RBDC).
Steps would be taken to address the grievances of the residents whose land had been acquired for the project, he said. The State government would bear half the cost for constructing an underpass at Kothamangalam. Railways would bear the rest. The overbridge surpasses two railway gates — one on the Koyilandy-Balussery-Thamarasseri road and another on the Muthambi- Arikkulam-Oorallur- Keezhariyur-Perambra road, which had been causing many traffic jams in Koyilandy town for years, sources said.
The bridge was built at a cost of Rs.18.12 crore and has 30 spans. which was constructed by Railways itself. The cost of construction was equally shared by the Railways and the RBDC.
The bridge has a diversion to the Thamarasseri road and Muthambi road. Solar-powered information and warning boards were being experimented in the State for the first time on the bridge. Minister for Works V.K. Ebrahim Kunju presided over the inauguration.