Motorists seem ill-fated to endure the chaos prevailing at Vyttila Junction and on potholed roads leading to it for another six months as the PWD (NH Wing) has extended the deadline for completion of the flyover at the junction to December.
The initial deadline for commissioning the structure was May ie., 18 months since the work began in December 2017. As on Monday, only 69% of work on the six-lane flyover was over.
“The work was hit by nearly a dozen hartals, for a fortnight due to the floods, and for a week owing to lorry strike. Also, the mid-day break given to workers during summer months affected the pace of work. The delay on the part of DMRC in launching spans on the metro viaduct at the junction too affected the work,” said a senior PWD (NH Wing) official.
The extension of deadline has come at a time when pedestrians and motorists and are seething in anger at the deplorable condition of the narrowed-down areas of the NH Bypass in front of the temple on the Aroor side of the junction.
Even worse is the condition of potholed and waterlogged service roads on the Palarivattom side. It is attributed to the PWD filling up drains on service roads to build retention walls of slip roads on the NH Bypass. The agency has not rebuilt alternative drains, causing waterlogging and potholes.
Motorists are not able to use the slip roads either since the PWD is yet to complete the construction of retention walls. Neither did it fill them with mud nor tar-coat them. All this could have been done during summer months.
NHAI peeved
An National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) official said the NH Bypass at the junction and service roads had been handed over to the PWD till the flyover is ready. “The department is duty-bound to do repair work, take steps to streamline traffic, and ensure the safety of pedestrians during this period. PWD officials have not responded although we sent many notices exhorting them to ensure the safety of all road users,” he added.
All departments, including the PWD, NHAI, and the Kochi Corporation, must come together and ensure the speedy repair of damaged and flooded roads at Vyttila, said P.M. Harris, chairman of the works standing committee of the corporation.
The haphazard trenching work done by the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) during the past several months for pipe-laying under the AMRUT scheme has added to the chaos at Vyttila, said A. Ajithkumar, executive committee member of Ernakulam District Residents’ Associations Apex Council (EDRAAC). “Leave alone tar-coat the dug-up areas, officials of the KWA, PWD, and the corporation have failed to even temporarily restore them. Temporary restoration using aggregate can be done even during rainy weather,” he added.
