The Edappally flyover will be opened to the public on Sunday. Built in about 18 months by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd, the flyover, which is 300 metres long, has four lanes spanning its width.
With the opening of the flyover, one of the major infrastructure bottlenecks of the city is expected to be resolved. The flyover consists of two independent carriageways on each side of the Metro Rail viaduct. The service roads have also been widened with two lanes on each side and spruced up for better traffic mobility at the junction.
The civil works of the flyover, including lighting, cost Rs. 35 crore while the land acquisition accounted for Rs. 40 crore. The estimated amount of Rs. 95 crore has not been fully spent so far with payments relating to land acquisition yet to be completed. Senior officials of the DMRC said that land acquisition had been the major hurdle in the project and the main cause for the delay in executing it. The flyover begins from the Edappally church on the one side and terminates at Lulu Mall on the other. Vehicles coming from Aluva should use the service road to reach Vyttila by the NH Bypass Road or to go towards Paravur. Similarly, vehicles from the Kaloor side, going towards Vyttila and Paravur should use the service road. The DMRC had suggested bypassing the Edappally junction by vehicles going from Vyttila to Aluva as this would further reduce the traffic congestion at the junction.
Another suggestion to decongest the junction was to make a subway from the NH Bypass to the NH 17 side.
The junction will also be pedestrian-friendly as footpaths have been built on both sides, said the DMRC.
Minister for Public Works G. Sudhakaran will inaugurate the flyover at a function on Sunday.