A smooth ride no more
KOCHI: Seems like there is no respite to Kochi’s traffic woes. With rain wreaking havoc, commuting has turned a nightmare in the city with the already-clogged roads developing potholes too. One of the most clogged and accident-prone stretches, the Seaport-Airport Road is worse affected by the quagmire.
With the construction of Vyttila and Kundannoor flyover going on, most of the vehicles going towards Alappuzha take the Seaport-Airport Road.The stretch from Irumpanam signal to Collectorate signal is always congested. The vehicles, from Chittethukara and Edachira and moving to the city, needs hours to clear the stretch, only to get stuck again at Padamugal, Vazhakkala and Chembumukku.
“During peak hours, it will take almost one-and-a-half hour to reach Palarivattom from Kakkanad. The incessant rain for the last few days has made it a herculean task to travel through the road. During night time, it is difficult to spot the huge potholes, because of the heavy rain. We usually skip the trips to
Kakkanad side during the night,” said the driver of an online taxi service.
The commuters travelling from Palarivattom to Kakkanad are also having a harrowing time due to the apathy of authorities. With the authorities failing to complete the pre-monsoon repair works, serpentine queue of vehicles is a daily norm.
From Palarivattom junction to the signal at the bypass, huge potholes have formed at many places. Past the signal, towards Kakkanad, huge potholes are seen at Alinchuvadu, Padamugal, the area near Azeezia Fram outlet, Chembumukku junction, Vazhakkala junctions and many areas around Padamugal.
The situation has become worse with the Kerala Water Authority failing to complete the road restoration works before the monsoon.
“This happens every year. They will not complete the road repair work before the monsoon. As a result, huge potholes will be developed during the monsoon season. We are perplexed as to why the authorities adopt this attitude on a stretch that is frequented by a lot of vehicles,” said Sudheesh, an auto driver.
In some areas, the potholes are very large that vehicles try a sudden turn to avoid the gutter. “That is the most dangerous situation. They take a sharp deviation to avoid the pothole. The chances of getting hit by vehicles from the back or opposite are very high,” said a resident.