The Ponnurunni overbridge is unlikely to be commissioned in September, because of the uncertainty about the work over the Railway portion. This means motorists and pedestrians would have to put up with the hassles associated with the bridge construction for a few more months. The Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala (RBDCK) had set September as the deadline to complete the 624-m-long overbridge, being built at a cost of Rs.17 crore. The work on the bridge’s approach spans is nearing completion.
Sources in the agency said that the bridge might be opened to traffic only by December. The Commissioner for Railway Safety has given the approval for constructing the sub structure over the rails, while that for the super structure is awaited and this would delay the project. “We had forwarded to the Railways details of the design. The rest of the works will be over by September. Public will then be able to use the service roads beneath the bridge. From Vyttila, they will be able to gain access to the Subhash Bose Road and back. But the service roads on the Thammanam side are narrower and it would be tough for heavy vehicles to use the roads,” they said.
Once commissioned, the bridge is expected to provide commuters in the Palarivattom-Vyttila direction an alternative road to the NH 47 bypass which is getting congested by the day. Currently, it is tough for even pedestrians, who include children from a nearby school, to use the road and the footpaths beneath the bridge. This is because most slabs in the footpath are broken, while debris and other construction materials are littered all through the footpaths and the road.
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A senior official of the Railway’s construction wing said that the paper work is being done for the approval for the super structure’s design and the railway safety commissioner’s nod is expected in another three weeks. “The work will not be over by September, because of the delay in getting approval. The process is time consuming since the approval of the Thiruvananthapuram Railway Divisional authorities and that of the departments concerned at the Southern Railway head office in Chennai too are crucial.”