KOCHI: The plan to install an additional toll plaza at Kumbalam is yet to take off. According to the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) officials, who maintain the Edappally-Aroor stretch, the delay to allot land has put the project on a standstill.
“We have corresponded with the District Collector and even forwarded a reminder to him last week asking him to speed up the procedure. However, he is yet to respond,” said Dinesh K, engineer with the NHAI Kochi region.
The NHAI officials and District Collector had held talks six months ago where they decided to find land to set up the additional toll plaza. “The existing one, which has eight lanes, is well past its traffic capacity. Everywhere across the country, toll plazas have more than eight booths. The minimum is 12 in most cases. A census by the NHAI found out that the Edappally-Aroor stretch is congested and in need of extra space. The Kumbalam Toll Plaza is also extremely choked. Land acquisition is a problem in the area, which is why the district administration decided to abandon the plan of acquiring extra space to extend the toll plaza. They said they had a suitable land to set up an additional toll plaza in the Highway, which we also agreed to,” Dinesh added.
Madavana not a feasible option: NHAI
As per discussions, the district administration asked the NHAI to study the possibility of setting up the additional toll plaza at Madavana in Panangad, which is three kilometres from the Kumbalam Toll Plaza. “We were asked to submit the report in two weeks time after the meeting. When we surveyed the situation, it was found that the proximity of the Madavana-Kumbalam bridge made it impossible to set up a toll booth in the location as there are stipulations that a plaza cannot be located close to an intersection as it will result in heavy traffic block in the region. Also, there are a lot of shops in the area,” he said.
However, District Collector K Mohammed Y Safirulla refuted the allegations by the NHAI that the project was being held up because of the district administration.“The new location that we proposed instead of the expansion at the current site, has still not been approved by the NHAI,” he said.
Congested toll plaza
The NHAI officials and District Collector had held talks six months ago where they decided to find land to set up the additional toll plaza
A census by the NHAI found out that the Edappally-Aroor stretch is congested and in need of extra space.
The Kumbalam Toll Plaza is also extremely choked