The National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC) has recommended widening of the 1-km-long Vyttila-Kunnara Park Road into a 21-metre-wide stretch, as part of efforts to decongest Vyttila Junction, since the narrow but busy corridor is flanked by four-lane roads on either end.
The agency has also suggested that the four-metre-wide Power House Road be widened as a three-lane corridor to enable smooth and safe movement of vehicles and pedestrians.
The PWD (Roads wing) had not widened the Vyttila-Kunnara Park Road, despite an assurance given a decade ago that it would be widened as part of the Kochi metro work. A survey is under way to assess the extent of land that will have to be acquired to widen it into a four-lane stretch, sources said.
NATPAC has, in addition, recommended widening of the bellmouth of Kaniampuzha Road and that of the free-left turn from the NH Bypass towards Pettah. The agency had recommended 60-metre width all through Vyttila Junction for the NH Bypass. But this is likely to be limited to 45 metres to lessen the extent of land acquisition.
The agency had recently cited the need for a six-lane flyover on the Alappuzha side of the existing flyover. The space beneath the structure will act as an underpass to enable safe crossing of motorists (and pedestrians) who want to proceed from Vyttila to SA Road and other parts of the city. A new underpass has been mooted, parallel to the existing underpass of the Vyttila railway overbridge to enable smooth movement of vehicles on the Palarivattom side of the junction.
NATPAC has also suggested a skywalk from the Alappuzha side of the junction, ending on the Palarivattom side and having an arm towards SA Road, to enable safe crossing by pedestrians. Further details on the proposals are likely to be finalised in a fortnight, considering that approximately 10,000 vehicles cross the junction every hour, it is learnt.
New signal points
The junction will have two new signal systems — one at the exit from the Vyttila Mobility Hub and another at the exit from the 55-metre-long Power House Road to the NH Bypass. On its part, the Vyttila Mobility Hub Society will have to repair the roads and other amenities within the hub. It must also ensure lighting on the premises and on Kaniampuzha Road that leads to the hub, official sources said.
Ultimately, these measures will, if implemented, result in vehicles being able to cross the junction without waiting for signal at any point in time, much like beneath the Palarivattom flyover.
Steps to overcome similar traffic problems at Kundannoor, where too snarls persist even after a six-lane flyover was built, will be considered at a later stage. Having to redevelop the two junctions, within a year of commissioning the flyovers, speaks of shoddy planning by the PWD (NH wing), the sources said.
