Kochi: Kundannoor-Thevara bridge to be closed again from mid-October
KOCHI: Kochiites, brace for another closure of the Kundannoor-Thevara Bridge owing to road relaying works. The National Highways Wing of the Kerala Public Works Department (PWD) is all set to start the Rs 12.85-crore project to relay the entire 5.9-km stretch along the NH 966B from Kundannoor Junction to CIFT Junction on Willingdon Island on September 26. While the retarring works will start from CIFT Junction, facilitating one-way traffic initially, vehicular movement along the Thevara bridge will be suspended from mid-October for nearly three weeks. This threatens to throw the city traffic into disarray.
“While we will relay the road section on the 5.9-km stretch, the existing tarring of the two bridges will have to be completely milled out and then a fresh layer needs to be added. This is because we found that the tarring on the bridge stretches gets rolled up easily because of high temperature, a reason why potholes develop quickly. So we’ve decided to go for German technology, using Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA) instead of the usual BMBC (Bituminous Macadam and Bituminous Concrete). This technology, rarely used in Kerala, will be used for the retarring of both the bridges on the Kundannoor-CIFT Junction stretch to provide durability,” an official said.
According to the official, this method will increase the durability of the stretch as the fibre content in SMA is higher, compared to traditional BMBC.
The milling and fresh tarring of the two bridges means they need to be closed for traffic for three weeks. Earlier, when the 1.75-km-long Kundannoor-Thevara Bridge was closed for a couple of days to facilitate temporary repair works, the traffic in the entire city was affected.
“We expect the work on the rest of the stretch (road retarring) to be over by October 2nd week. Then we will plan accordingly (about the bridge closure). A preliminary meeting with the authorities, including the District Collector, was held the other day. Now, we’ll hold detailed deliberations with the agencies like City Traffic Police, Maradu Municipality and other stakeholders to decide on the closure of the bridges to facilitate the milling and fresh tarring,” the official said.
Kothamangalam-based VKJ Infrastructures is carrying out the work. Originally, the retarring was scheduled to be done last November. However, it was pointed out that the stretch gets damaged easily due to dense traffic, especially because of the movement of heavy vehicles like trucks and container lorries. So, the authorities then went for the German technology method for relaying the bridge sections for extended durability. A revised proposal was submitted and the same was finally approved on May 3. However, the monsoon began early and the project got delayed by over three months.
The High Court recently pulled up the PWD for delay in carrying out permanent repair of the key section, which witnesses a heavy traffic flow, following a petition filed by former Maradu Vice President Boban Nedumparambil.
“They have informed the court that the bridge sections will be closed for nearly a month. An alternative route that can be used is the Bund Road-Thykoodam section. However, currently, it’s closed to traffic. So, the authorities have to make alternative traffic diversion arrangements before closing the bridge sections to traffic,” Boban said.