THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The construction of the proposed service bridge at Thiruvallam will get delayed as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) --- the implementing agency of the project --- is not satisfied with the present design.
As per the NHAI, the design, if implemented, will make it difficult for commuters to enter the service bridge from the approach road. The design will be reworked so as to ensure smooth access to the bridge, NHAI sources said.
The new service bridge was mooted by the NHAI to reduce frequent accidents due to one-way rule violations by motorists near the Thiruvallam Parasurama temple. Earlier, the NHAI officials stated that the construction would start by May, after calling the tender in February. However, the tender for the project has not been called yet due to design issues.
“We were about to start the proceedings to call the tender for the project. But, the design of the bridge was found to be infeasible. So, we decided to prepare a new design suitable for the local residents and motorists. The process has started and it will not be delayed for long,” said P Pradeep, project director, NHAI.
The new bridge, which will have a width of 12m, will be built parallel to the existing old bridge (on the eastern side) at an estimated cost of Rs 9 crore.
Earlier, the NHAI headquarters in New Delhi had directed the regional office to rework the DPR in a way that avoided toll revenue leakage. It said the new service bridge should be redesigned so that people pay a toll to use the bridge. The toll plaza is located around 200m from Thiruvallam junction, towards Kovalam. Based on the direction, NHAI reworked the DPR and redesigned it. As per the plan, the new service bridge will be just for motorists coming from Ambalathara to Thiruvallam and Pachalloor. The old bridge will be the main carriageway of the NH bypass.
Last year, Public Works Minister P A Mohamed Riyas visited the spot and urged the NHAI to construct a new bridge on a war footing. Thiruvallam is one of the busiest junctions in Thiruvananthapuram, with vehicles travelling towards Kovalam, Pachalloor, East Fort, and Ambalathara passing through here.
As per the statistics available with the police, over 40 accidents occurred on the old bridge in the past three years, as motorists from Pachalloor and Kovalam used the bridge to enter Ambalathara, instead of taking a U-turn at the Kumarichantha signal as per the traffic rules. The construction of a new service bridge will help motorists from the Ambalathara side reach Thiruvallam junction without entering the old bridge.