THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The road from Shankhumukham to Trivandrum Airport domestic terminal, which was closed for many months due to extensive damage owing to sea erosion, will be opened to traffic from Tuesday. Thiruvananthapuram Road Development Company Ltd carried out the work under the supervision of Kerala Road Fund Board (KRFB).
Public Works Minister P A Mohammed Riyas, Transport Minister Antony Raju and Mayor S Arya Rajendran, along with officers, visited the site on Monday. In his Facebook post, Riyas said the Shankhumukham road, also known as the Thiruvananthapuram Airport Road, was one of the first places that he visited after assuming office as the PWD minister in May 2021. The collapse of the road began with the 2017 Cyclone Ockhi disaster. Continuous rains and rough seas further damaged the road. The road was completely destroyed in the May 15 storm. As soon as he took charge, the meeting decided to initiate immediate steps to repair the road.
“Steps have been taken to permanently solve the problem of Shankhumukham road as an airport road and a major tourist destination. The construction of diaphragm wall is progressing to protect the road from sea storms and natural calamities. The work was revied as part of the ‘Accelerate PWD’ programme. The chief minister chaired the meeting to discuss matters related to the construction work.
Regular inspections were carried out from the office of the minister. Visited here continuously on December 7 and 24, 2021. During the visit on December 24, it was decided that the work should be completed by March 15, 2022. Then a working calendar was prepared and the progress of each day’s work was evaluated by meeting every night. The road will be opened to traffic on March 15, “ Riyas said in his Facebook post.
“Now the work of the diaphragm wall is complete. Efforts will be made to complete the rest of the work in a timely manner, “ he added. In the first few weeks of monsoon every year, the storm surge intensifies along the coastline from Shankhumukham to Kovalam damaging the coastline here. The authorities often had to divert vehicles coming to the domestic terminal of the airport when the beach road near Shankhumukham gets damaged.