KOCHI: The traffic snarl, which has been a daily affair, at Vyttila Junction will soon be a thing of the past. PWD minister Mohamed Riyas, at a meeting here on Sunday directed authorities to come up with a foolproof plan that will ensure the junction is free of bottlenecks for at least 20 years.
"The plan should be well-devised without any scope for complaint," Riyas said at the meeting attended by people's representatives and officials from departments concerned. The Public Works Department had constructed the Vyttila and Kundanoor flyovers as part of a comprehensive project to decongest the junctions. However, the snarl-up continues to pose a headache to commuters.
The PWD, NH, NHAI and traffic wing officials have been instructed to carry out a joint inspection of the area and hold a detailed traffic study to prepare a scientific plan. "Land acquisition will be carried out in areas, if necessary," said the minister.
However, the final decision will only be taken after taking into consideration the report submitted by the PWD and the National Highway Authority in 2019. Riyas also directed authorities to prepare a plan to provide temporary relief to commuters.
Meanwhile, the minister also instructed authorities to expedite the land acquisition procedure at the Thammanam-Pullepady road. According to the minister, a separate meeting of the stakeholders will be called to further look into the issues. "The authorities have been directed to begin the work on the stretch from Kathrikadavu junction to Karakkodam bridge where land acquisition process has been completed," said the minister.
After this, the instructions are to acquire land from Kathrikadavu Junction to the Padma and from NH to Thammanam. “As soon as the land for the road project is completed, the construction work has to start,” directed the minister. The district collector has been entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing the project, he said.
The district administration has also been instructed to hold regular meetings every month to get an update of the land acquisition process to the minister.The development of the Thammanam-Pullepady road, which comes under the KIIFB and falls under the jurisdiction of Kochi Corporation, will bring reprieve to the traffic snarls in the city. At present, the road, which lies parallel to the Infopark road, doesn’t have the width to accommodate two cars side-by-side.