The trio of Goshree bridges and several stretches of the roads that link them continue to be in poor shape, prolonging agony for motorists and pedestrians alike.
Travellers using these roads are also angry because the rail overbridge, work on which was completed more than a year ago, has now been closed to traffic after one of its spans at the west end fell to the ground.
“The bridge has since been closed to traffic and when goods trains come to the International Container Terminal, traffic comes to a standstill for more than half an hour at a stretch,” said Chairman of Goshree Action Council Majnu Komath on Sunday.
“There was a move, about a month ago, to open the new bridge to two-wheelers, three-wheelers and some other light vehicles when the railway gate is closed,” said S. Sarma, MLA. He said the decision was to ease the traffic congestion when road traffic was disrupted at the level crossing.
However, District Collector P.I. Sheikh Pareeth said the Bangalore-based engineering consultant for the bridge had suggested that the defect be completely rectified before the bridge was reopened.
The District Collector said maintenance work on the other Goshree bridges and roads would be taken up this week as the work had been handed over to Kerala State Construction Corporation, which was expected to begin the work now.
Motorists and pedestrians are also hit by poor lighting of the roads and careless parking of container carriers on both sides of the roads persists, putting night travellers in serious trouble and raising the possibility of road accidents.
“This is a disaster waiting to happen,” he said pointing out that repeated protest against parking of container lorries on the road shoulders had not yielded any result so far.
Mr. Komath said the lorries were parked without lights and both pedestrians and motorists faced danger from these lorries. The problem was acute between Bolgatty and Vallarpadam, he said.
Paul Mampilly of Goshree Manushyavakaasha Samrakshana Samithy said the condition of the Mulavukadu bridge had been bad for a long time. He alleged that the Goshree Islands Development Authority (GIDA), which initiated the building of the bridges and the roads, was diverting its funds and so was not able to attend to the roads.
