KOCHI: The Vyttila flyover, constructed in 2021 as a solution to a perennial choke point, has instead turned one of Kerala’s busiest junctions into a daily traffic nightmare.
Nearly 1.5 lakh vehicles converge here every day from four major arterial city roads and a national highway, bearing testimony to what flawed planning and poor coordination can produce.
Interestingly, the bulk of the original problem remains, thanks in part to administrative inertia. “The overwhelming majority of vehicles passing through Vyttila are either turning towards SA Road, Tripunithura, or Kaniyampuzha/Eroor,” said D Dhanuraj, chairman of the Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR).
These movements, he explained, are funnelled through narrow roads, inevitably creating chronic bottlenecks. In contrast, the elevated flyover remains relatively underutilised, as it primarily caters to inter-district traffic.
Studies, too, indicate that nearly 80% of traffic at Vyttila moves east to west, a flow the present junction design fails to accommodate efficiently.
Warnings about this were raised even before construction began, according to a road expert associated with the government. “But they were brushed aside. Within days of the flyover’s inauguration, confusion returned to the junction,” the expert said on condition of anonymity.
Since then, several review meetings and studies were held... and as many assurances. But these have yielded little or no results, the official added.
A flood of avenues
Much of the dilemma, experts said, stemmed from the invisible tango between various arms of the government. And this recently manifested itself in maintenance disputes over traffic signals at the junction, which ended up plunging the entire stretch into darkness.
Of the many plausible solutions being bandied around, one offered by Transport Minister K B Ganesh Kumar has garnered significant attention. He suggested demolishing the flyover — which was, interestingly, built under the supervision of an LDF government, of which he is now part — and putting up a new one in its place.
Former Public Works Minister G Sudhakaran, who was in charge when construction began in 2017, told TNIE that the project had been proposed by the Oommen Chandy-led UDF government, which also prepared the detailed project report. However, ‘Metro Man’ E Sreedharan said he had flagged design flaws as early as 2018. “I had pointed out that the flyover would not solve the congestion. I even proposed a three-tier design — with the Tripunithura road at the bottom, the NH above it, and the metro on top,” he said.
Dhanuraj believes the chaos can be eased without drastic alterations through an “elongated roundabout” — more accurately, an elongated rectangle.
“A dedicated subway on Powerhouse Road to ease vehicles into the highway without disrupting the seamless traffic flow and expanding the subway under the old rail overbridge will greatly alleviate the chaos here,” he suggested.
Shreeganesh V Nair, chief consultant of an engineering consultancy firm, said the elongated roundabout could work only if sufficient space is available.
Urban designer Ajith Vyas argued that institutional misalignment lies at the heart of such failures. “Different parts of Kochi fall under different agencies, such as KMRL, PWD, NHAI, GCDA and others. There is no single empowered agency or special-purpose vehicle overseeing projects holistically. Without that, finer nuances are missed,” he said.
Traffic nightmare
A vast under-utilised section, possibly due to sloping bridge ends
There is no median to demarcate the two lanes of SA Road at this point. Motorists, especially those coming from Edappally, are puzzled as they turn to head towards MG Road
This wide slab for the flyover and metro piers takes up too much room on the road, reducing the width of roads on either sides
The pile-up at this point prevents vehicles from seamlessly joining the highway. Also, no clear lane demarcations for vehicles joining from the SA Road and those turning in from the Edappally side
A road cuts at a nearly 90-degree angle into where vehicles veering off from the highway come to a stop at the Vyttila signal