THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After a two-year delay, Kerala’s longest foot overbridge at East Fort here is finally set to be commissioned by the second week of May. Only some artistic touches are to be completed and the inauguration date would be announced once Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan returns after treatment in the US, according to officials.Initiated in 2019 as a public-private-partnership project under the city corporation and Thiruvanathapuram-based Axo Engineers (P) Limited, the L-shaped bridge has been designed in the shape of a fort as part of heritage conservation, and is equipped with elevators for the elderly and people with disabilities.
Former public works minister G Sudhakaran had launched the Rs 2.75-crore project in June 2019, and work was expected to be completed in March 2020. However, the pandemic and the design concerns raised by the archeology department delayed the project. Notably, 16 deaths were recorded at East Fort over the past three years due to heavy traffic on the stretch and the lack of a proper walkway.
“The construction has been completed, only some final works remain,” said Corporation Secretary Binu Francis. “We are planning to open it in the first or second week of May.” Axo Engineers, which funded the `4-crore project, will also maintain the bridge as part of its corporate social responsibility commitments.
“The foot overbridge structure will have artworks highlighting the heritage aspects of Thiruvananthapuram and East Fort. The artists are from our team,” said S Naseeb, director of Axo Engineers.
“There is also a section that would display paintings of prominent people who were born and brought up in Thiruvananthapuram.” The sophisticated skywalk starts at the front of Gandhi Park and covers parking bays of buses to and from Kovalam. It would also have dedicated advertising spaces, including a 600 sq.ft LED screen, said to be one of south India’s largest.
City residents, meanwhile, eagerly await the inauguration as the commissioning of foot over-bridges at Government Girls’ Higher Secondary School, Cotton Hill, and St Mary’s Higher Secondary School in Pattom had brought huge relief to pedestrians.
project highlights
The project cost is D4 crore
Covering 102 metres, the skywalk will be the longest foot overbridge in the state
Structure will have 35 CCTV units
A police aid post will be set up
Besides portraits of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and EMS Namboodiripad, the ‘Abhimanam Ananthapuri Square’ will showcase paintings of people who contributed to the district
It will also have pictures of tourist spots across the state and a selfie corner
A 600sq.ft HD LED wall has been installed, primarily for digital marketing