Opening of Kundannoor and Vyttila flyovers delayed till October-end
KOCHI: The hardships of motorists will continue as the opening of the Vyttila and Kundannoor flyovers has been pushed to the end of October from the extended deadline of August-end after inclement weather played spoilsport.Though 95 per cent of the flyovers’ work is over, the final tarring and beautification have been delayed owing to bad weather.Already, the official deadlines of the projects, which were muddled in controversies for the past two years, have been extended several times.
The initial plan was to complete the Vyttila and Kundannoor flyovers by May 2019 and March 2020, respectively. In Vyttila flyover, the laying of reinforced cement concrete on the approach road towards Palarivattom and that of mastic asphalt on the bridge surface to protect the slabs, besides final bituminous macadam bituminous concrete (BMBC) tarring are what remain. Representatives of Sreedhanya Constructions, the contractor for the flyover, said they need a maximum of 80 days to complete the remaining works.
“A majority of works like painting and cleaning is over. The final few works need a week to complete provided there is no rain. The laying of mastic asphalt requires experts and we are bringing around 15 qualified hands from Tamil Nadu. Since quarantine is mandatory for those arriving from other states, the work will take some time to resume. The tarring and other concrete works will take over two months more,” said the representative.
A representative of Marymatha Constructions, the contractor for Kundannoor flyover, said the application of final wearing coat on the surface was the major work remaining. “The work requires more than 45 days to complete and is impossible to carry out during the rain. With the final beautification works, the approach road towards Aroor is also nearing completion,” said the representative.
Though vehicular movement is allowed below the Kundannoor flyover with certain restrictions, laying of tiles and median works is going on. Retarring of dilapidated service roads will resume soon. However, the delay in the installation of traffic signals beneath the Vyttila flyover by Keltron is hampering the work.“Though the connectivity between Sahodaran Ayyappan Road and Tripunithura road can be ensured in a few days, we couldn’t lay floor tiles due to the delay by Keltron in installing traffic signals. Besides, Public Works Department officials have also requested to build kerbstones and retaining walls on the road,” said the representative of Sreedhanya Constructions.
Palarivattom flyover’s fate
Kochi: The fate of Palarivattom flyover is still hanging in the Supreme Court as it is yet to pronounce its verdict on the ‘load test’ demand raised by Builders Association of India. Earlier, Public Works Minister G Sudhakaran had told TNIE that the government was going ahead with the demolition plan. “The issue is getting delayed for no reason,” he had said.