KOCHI: The development of smart roads in the city by the Cochin Smart Mission is progressing amid the Covid-19 crisis, according to the agency’s chief executive officer Jafar Malik. The Smart Mission is developing 13.81 km of roads, with the width ranging from three to eight metres. These roads are being developed with improved drainage facilities and provision for footpaths (as per standard and space available). The Rs 43.60-crore project aims to improve roads with bituminous surfacing or interlocking paver blocks, wherever required. A total of 40 roads will be developed under the project.
“Work on 24 roads have been fully completed, including electrical work and installing LED lights. Ten roads are 70% done and five roads have 50% progress. Work on the remaining has been started,” said Malik. The agency is carrying out the work with lots of constraints amid the pandemic, the officer said.
“There are hurdles like containment zone restrictions, lockdown issues, employees becoming Covid positive, labourers leaving for their homes, material shortage and price rise. But the Smart Mission is committed to completing the work as early as possible. Though the public has to suffer because of traffic issues during the road work, the results will be very pleasant. The recently opened Abraham Madamakkal Road, Kerala’s first smart road, is the best example of that,” he said. The dense bituminous macadam laying work on the Shanmugham Road, Park Avenue and DH Road is over.
“The work on footpaths will start after the shifting of the utility cables through ducts. We are awaiting approvals from the electrical inspectorate to start the footpath work. The cabling work is progressing quickly on all roads. Electrical and road work are progressing on Banerji Road,” he said. Though the work was supposed to be finished in September 2020, the agency is now hoping to complete it by the end of this year.
“Smart roads cover prominent areas like the High Court, police headquarters, religious places, colleges, hospitals and parks. These are areas that witness brisk traffic. Getting the power shut for the utility shifting was critical and is allowed only on weekends. With the support of KSEB, we have managed to address the issue. Work is progressing fast,” the Smart Mission CEO added.