: The foundation stone for six-lane flyovers at Vyttila (Rs 109 crore) and Kundannoor (Rs 80 crore) will be laid in October, Minister for Public Works V.K. Ebrahim Kunju said.
The projects will be done in EPC (engineering procurement construction) mode and will be ready in 18 months. The government has also earmarked Rs 300 crore for widening Thammanam- Pullepady-NH 47 Bypass Road on BOT annuity mode. Palarivattom flyover will be commissioned in March 2016 (three months post deadline), he told the media following a State-level PWD review meeting held here on Tuesday. No toll will be collected since funds for these projects would be raised from the Re. 1 cess charged per litre of fuel sold in Kerala. The foundation stone for the two flyovers was expected to be laid in August 2014, but was deferred citing State government’s ‘funds crunch’. There was also delay in finalising their design. The State government decided to build the flyovers since proposals submitted by NHAI were prohibitively expensive. Commuters would also have to pay toll if NHAI were to build flyovers.
The two flyovers will be built over NH 47 Bypass, in north-south direction. Kochi Metro viaduct would hover over Vyttila flyover, before entering Vyttila Mobility Hub. The viaduct would not be as high as it is over Ernakulam North overbridge, PWD sources said. Vehicles are likely to be diverted through slow tracks and service roads of NH Bypass when construction gets underway.
Despite complaints of the narrow Vyttila underpass getting choked with vehicles during peak times, NHAI has not built a parallel underpass for which space is available.
Sources associated with flyover construction said that pre-cast girders will be used to lessen construction time and to minimise traffic disruption.
A similar mode will be adopted in Kundannoor too. “There will also be a two-lane slip road at the junction to divert vehicles during construction phase, since the junction is a meeting place of NH 47 and NH 49. Land acquisition will be minimal. Ramps will link the flyover with two star hotels on either side of the junction. A big round about too has been planned.”
They added that the flyover will not have expansion joints which often provide a bumpy ride to motorists. The proposal for a clover leaf shaped flyover at the junction was dropped for fear of large-scale land acquisition.