KOCHI: Vyttila flyover, hailed as a lasting solution to the traffic woes of one of the state’s busiest junctions, continues to fail to keep its promise, even three years after its inauguration.
The junction is a major intersection that connects Ernakulam to two other districts — Kottayam and Alappuzha. Despite its importance, it remained blighted by traffic congestion for a long time. The six-lane flyover was opened in 2021 promising to make life easier for the general public. The only thing the flyover has done so far is exacerbate the traffic congestion in and around Vyttila junction, especially during peak hours. “People have to wait for more than 25 minutes to cross the 2km Ponnurunni-Vyttila stretch of Sahodaran Ayyappan road during peak hours, especially after 5pm. Once you cross the junction, the journey isn’t made any easier, since the vehicles then have to tackle the bottlenecks along the Vyttila-Tripunithura stretch, till Thykoodam,” says Gopakumar, who has been commuting from Tripunithura to Padma junction, via Vyttila, for around a decade.
“The congestion increased due to the provision of free left turns onto the Vyttila-Palarivattom stretch. While this could have been a suitable solution to ensure the free flow of traffic, the two-lane roads aren’t wide enough for vehicles on the main lane to adjust to facilitate the free left,” he added.
Moreover, the flyover itself sees very little traffic, even during rush hour. Francis, an auto rickshaw driver, who has been plying the route since 2016 says, “Very few motorists use the flyover. As a result, the issue of traffic congestion at the junction has remained unresolved. Along with this, motorists who travel under the flyover rarely adhere to rules. The flyover has done nothing to sort out the traffic problems. Rather, it feels like the issues have been magnified. Vyttila junction was better without the flyover,” he added.
Following complaints and public uproar, there have been attempts by authorities to address the concerns. “Traffic has been a longstanding issue in Vyttila. There have been attempts to sort it out. PWD, NHAI and local self-government authorities came together to conduct a joint study last month. The report has been submitted to the government,” Kochi deputy commissioner K S Sudarsan said.