KOCHI: The public works department (PWD) has started laying interlock tiles from Tuesday as part of repairing the dilapidated Thuravoor-Ezhupunna-Kumbalangi coastal road, a key alternative route to the Thuravoor-Aroor NH 66 section where the construction of the elevated highway is in progress.
To facilitate the repair, a complete ban on traffic movement has been enforced in the Thuravoor-Pattukulangara reach.
“Repair of the entire 10.5-km-long, 5.5-m-wide stretch will be completed in one-and-a-half months. We are laying interlock tiles at select reaches that lack drainage facilities and where there are chances of the road getting easily damaged due to waterlogging,” said a senior PWD official.
The interlocking tiles will be laid at various stretches for a total 600m. “Vehicles will not be allowed to ply on the stretch. Commuters should plan their journey and take alternative routes. The public should cooperate until the work is over,” the official said.
TNIE had highlighted how the dilapidated condition of key alternative routes such as the Thuravoor-Ezhupunna-Kumbalangi coastal road is leading to traffic congestion, especially with the start of the Sabarimala season.
The Alappuzha district collector directed the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) that traffic restrictions and diversions must be carried out in the stretch with police assistance during the lifting and installation of girders on the 12.75-km stretch where the work has entered the final stage.