KOCHI: The Palarivattom flyover, which drew flak from the public soon after its commissioning for developing potholes, will be closed down for one and a half months from Saturday for repair works. The flyover will be closed from April 13 to May 30 and traffic curbs will be imposed. The closing down of the bridge after three years of its opening for major repair works raises questions about the quality of its construction.
The PWD authorities said the bridge is being closed down for maintenance work and for levelling the surface. However, even after pothole filling, the surface of the bridge keeps on deteriorating, which raises serious questions on its quality.
Traffic regulation
Meanwhile, the Kochi City Traffic East police have imposed traffic regulations in connection with the repair works of the bridge. Since the bridge will be closed down for one and a half months, the vehicles coming from Edappally side and going towards Vyttila should travel through the left side of the NH and follow the traffic signal system installed under the bridge to proceed. Likewise, the vehicles coming from Vyttila and going towards Edappally should also proceed as per the signal from the bypass junction.
The vehicles coming from Palarivattom side and going towards Kakkanad should deviate to NH from bypass jn and take a U-turn near Oberon Mall to reach Kakkanad. The vehicles from Vyttila which are proceeding towards Kakkanad should travel along the NH, cross the bypass signal and reach the U-turn near Oberon Mall to reach Kakkanad.
The vehicles coming from Kakkanad and going towards Palarivattom and MG Road should turn left from the signal junction and take a U-turn from Ernakulam Medical Centre to reach Palarivattom.