THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Finally, a key infrastructure project in the city which had hit a roadblock will start its journey towards completion. According to a top National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) officer, the tender for the construction of the proposed flyover at Kazhakoottam junction will be floated soon. The officer said, the proceedings have been completed and documents needed to float the tender has been obtained. “All aspects including the estimate have been finalised. We will float the tenders very soon. We can’t pinpoint a particular date. But it will happen at the earliest,” the officer told Express.
The latest decision comes in the wake of the Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways’ (MoRTH) approval for the project along with the development of NH 66 from Kazhakoottam to Cherthala. The Union ministry had issued the approval two weeks ago. In October last year, NHAI headquarters had approved the flyover design.
The project, which was part of the development of Kazhakoottam- Karode NH 66 bypass, was later planned as a standalone initiative. The 2.4-kilometre flyover was proposed to decongest the busy IT corridor and ease the flow of traffic in front of Technopark Phase -l and Phase-III. The flyover will be 20.5 m wide and have pillars at every 30 m. It will also have footpaths on either side.
Unlike the earlier proposal, the flyover will end near Technopark Phase-III and will start near Kazhakoottam police station.As per the plan, the vehicles coming from Kollam side to Kovalam or the airport can make use of the flyover, while the local traffic will proceed underneath the flyover. The project, which was proposed by the previous government, was set in motion after the Union Minister of Road, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari instructed NHAI to build a flyover and underpass at Kazhakootam. However, the underpass project was later dropped due to practical difficulties.
The National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC), which conducted a study on de-congesting the area three years ago, had suggested an elevated road from Kazhakoottam to Technopark.
According to the NATPAC study, all the road sections around Technopark have been catering to traffic nearly three times more than its capacity during the base year itself. As per the report, about 30 percent of those who arrive at the Technopark Campus use two-wheelers while 26 percent each use car and bus.