KOCHI: Travelling to Cochin International Airport at Nedumbassery from Kochi city during peak hours is a task in itself, often forcing commuters to spend long hours in traffic.
On Saturday, Transport Minister K B Ganesh Kumar and Industries Minister P Rajeeve embarked on a mission to decongest the stretch by introducing several traffic revolutions on an experimental basis.
They visited the main traffic bottlenecks like Kalamassery HMT Junction, TVS Junction, Edapally Toll Junction and Vyttila Junction during the peak evening hours to have a first hand assessment of the situation and come up with effective solutions.
The duo was accompanied by a team of officials, including those from the traffic, PWD, NHAI, police, and the MVD wings, among others. It was broadly decided to implement ‘free left turns’ to the maximum effect. “A one-way system will be introduced at HMT Junction. Vehicles coming from Apollo Junction along the highway and proceeding to Edappally side should take a left turn at Aryaas Junction and proceed to HMT Road and reach TVS Junction, before proceeding to the city side. Those vehicles coming from the Seaport-Airport side and proceeding to Aluva should reach TVS Junction and enter the highway. Vehicles can’t go directly to the South Kalamassery direction and have to first reach University Junction, before proceeding ahead,” said Minister Rajeeve, explaining the proposed traffic change at HMT Junction.
“What we’re trying to do is to provide maximum free left turns and avoid signalling lights as far as possible. The other day we experimented the same at Nedumbassery Junction, which was a success,” said Ganesh Kumar.