KOCHI: Come June and July, and the city is jarred by a regular phenomenon. Not the rain, which would be considered a welcome respite from the heat if it weren’t accompanied by waterlogging and potholed roads that turn commuting into a nightmare. Come the monsoon and traffic snarls become a frustrating feature in every nook and corner of the city.
If during the dry spell, a motorist took about 20 minutes to get past a busy road, now they inch forward at an exasperating pace and taking about double the time to negotiate in a traffic snarl. Express went to some of the stretches witnessing traffic snarls and accidents, owing to the lackadaisical attitude of the district administration, the civic body and other government agencies who have failed year-after-year to initiate steps to end this nagging problem.
Vyttila-Kundannoor road’s dubious distinction
Despite this stretch coming under the National Highway, it is one of the most congested areas in the state. Motorists have to factor in at least an extra hour into their journey thanks to the slow-moving traffic and plenty of potholes here. Even the service road in front of Anugraha hotel is more potholes and less road. The construction of a bridge at Vyttila junction has done no favours for commuters. “In the last week, the authorities paved interlocked tiles at the stretch. But nothing has changed; we still face difficulty in crossing the junction,” said Shibu, an Uber driver.
A tough task to reach Fort Kochi
With more and more commuters preferring to take the Thevara-Kundanoor bridge to reach Fort Kochi, the traffic snarl up has become a very common thing. The arrival of vehicles from Alappuzha via Aroor too has not helped with the situation, added to which.
Special skills required
No amount of skill can make a driver avoid the enormous pothole on the Salim Rajan Road, a busy thoroughfare used mainly by KSRTC buses. The deep pothole has not only become a bane for the motorists, but also the pedestrians. An ideal spot for a mud bath!
Civil lane road
The stretch between Palarivattam signal and Padamugal is a potholed ordeal. Many areas in Alinchivadu, Chembumukku and Padamugal are broken, leading to traffic congestion, especially during peak hours. It takes almost half an hour to cross Vazhakkala junction. The temporary median installed by the traffic police has already narrowed down the Vazhakkala Road. With potholes aplenty, two-wheeler accidents are a common sight.
Potholed Kaloor-Kathrikadavu bridge a bane for motorists
As vehicles approach the Kaloor-Kathrikadavu bridge from Kaloor, a huge pothole greets the motorists. The depth of the pothole and the sharp cutting force drivers to slow down to almost 5 km/hr at the spot. This, in turn, leads to a bottleneck. The problem here does not only affect the traffic but also that from Thammanam. The end result, 30 to 35 minutes spend clearing this stretch.
Temple Road needs divine intervention
Heavy rain has turned the potholes into death traps, like the ones under the Railway Overbridge at Temple Road. According to local residents, continuous leakage of water from a broken KWA pipeline has caused the pothole. It took at least 30 minutes to release the back wheel of a vehicle from the pothole and this, in turn, led to a huge block on the road leading to Vyttila.
Edappally junction blessed but...
Despite Edappally junction getting a flyover and an under-passage, there is no let-up to traffic congestion. Though the stretch is devoid of potholes, the movement of the vehicle in the stretch always slow. “The entry to Lulu creates chaos here. The implementation of lane discipline is the only solution,” said traffic police with the Edappally office.
Goshree bridge
The Goshree Bridge, along the Ernakulam-Vypin stretch, is also heavily potholed and causing blocks. “Since the roads are filled with potholes, it is very difficult for the vehicles to ply over the bridge.
We had to wait for more than an hour the previous day to arrive at our offices,” said Aby Jose, a resident of Vypin. The lack of electric lights over the bridge is also a grave concern for the people.
Arterial block
Right from Vytilla to Kadavanthra, Kaloor and MG Road up to Goshree Bridge on the one side and Vazhakkala going around the Seaport-Airport Road, Kochi traffic is moving in fits and starts. It’s not as bad as Bengaluru yet, but is definitely getting there