Chief Minister V.S. Achutanandan will declare open the Pullepady railway overbridge on Monday.
Though the approach roads on either side — up to Padma Junction and up to Thammanam — are yet to be fully widened, at least a few of the vehicles plying along the route are expected to begin using the new bridge. The bridge will provide fresh road connectivity from MG Road to Palarivattom and Vytilla. It will thus lessen congestion on the North overbridge and Banerjee Road.
The Thammanam-Pullepady road being widened by the Corporation of Cochin will run parallel to SA Road. There are plans to extend it up to Chakkaraparambu Junction on the Palarivattom-Vytilla bypass and further extend it to the Seaport-Airport Road. This will ultimately decongest the Palarivattom-Kakkanad and Vytilla-Thripunithura roads as well.
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The work on the Pullepady bridge suffered delays because of the failure of the Railways to complete the 25-metre portion over the rails on time. The agency took over five years to construct the span. The Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala completed work on the approach spans in 2006. This is the RBDCK's 18{+t}{+h} bridge in the State and the third in the district.
Bridge toll
The following are the user fee rates for the Pullepady bridge – car, jeep and pick-up van (single trip - Rs 5; return trip Rs 7.50; multiple trips – Rs 15); light commercial vehicles (Rs 8; Rs 12 and Rs 24); bus, truck, tanker, other heavy vehicles (Rs 15; Rs 22.50; Rs 45).
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The Union Minister of State for Railways E. Ahmed will preside over the inaugural function of the bridge.