It seems Kochi roads will take a turn for the better as authorities have finally begun repairing the pothole-ridden stretch on either side of the Metro rail worksites starting from Aluva.
According to officials, the DMRC began filling the potholes from Aluva to Ernakulam South using bitumen emulsion and shelmac premix from Wednesday onwards. “The preparatory works have kicked off on the road from Aluva to Ernakulam South along the metro rail viaduct corridor and steps are also in place to mobilise bitumen for the purpose,” said a senior official. He assured that the agency would do a comprehensive resurfacing of city roads with the onset of the dry-spell.
The decision to repair the damaged roads follows a joint inspection of the city roads by officials of the Kochi Metro Rail Limited along with the DMRC, Cochin Corporation, KWA, PWD, NH and the Traffic Police on Tuesday.
Based on it, the metro agency has been also entrusted with the responsibility of removing the unevenness on the road between Ernakulam North and Edappally and laying of tiles at the Edappally Junction, in addition to widening the road shoulders at Vyttila.
Officials said the DMRC planned to carry out the road repair operations in the KC4 reach (Kochin Civil 4) from Kaloor stadium to Ernakulam South in three days. “In this stretch, priority will be given to repair the stretch between Kaloor and Deshabhimani Junction, which will be completed by Thursday itself. The stretch from Kaloor to M.G. Road will be attended next day while repair operations in the remaining portion up to Manorama Junction will be carried out on the day after tomorrow,” the official said.
The agency has already completed construction of a culvert at Premier Junction to address the issue of water stagnation on road. Meanwhile, the city corporation is scheduled to start work to remove the blockage of inlet holes to facilitate drainage of water from roads from Saturday onwards.
