THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: This might be a stretch that can get very perilous for pedestrians. The heavy traffic and the lack of a proper walkway have resulted in a huge number of accidents at East Fort with 16 deaths recorded in three years, wherein 13 were pedestrians.
The gravity of the situation had called for pedestrian-friendly initiatives. And, giving the move a shot in the arm, the corporation has got the approval for constructing a foot overbridge at Attakulangara from the Heritage Department.
“The project at East Fort has been delayed due to an issue with the departments concerned. Though the corporation has got sanction from the Heritage Department, the approval from Kerala Road Fund Board (KFRB) was pending. The foot overbridge will be a huge relief to the pedestrians from heavy traffic,” said Mayor V K Prasanth.
As per the design, there will be two-foot overbridges, one from the Gandhi Park exit to the side of the bus stand towards Beemappally stand, and another from the bus stand to the opposite side. The proposed foot overbridges will have lifts on either side.
The skywalk project is being executed under a public-private-partnership between the city corporation and Sun Infrastructure Private Ltd. The cost of the project and its maintenance will be borne by Sun Infrastructure, with the company being allowed to use the space for advertisement.
“The company is expected to begin the construction work of East Fort skywalk by November 1. The plan is to start the work 10 days before the completion of the second foot overbridge which is being constructed at Pattom,” said Naseeb S, director of Sun Infrastructure.
Skywalk at Pattom
The work on the foot overbridge in front of St Mary Higher Secondary School, Pattom is set to begin this Monday. The foundation stone for foot overbridges at two of the busiest areas in the city — near Government Girls’ Higher Secondary School, Cotton Hill, and St Mary’s Higher Secondary School in Pattom — were laid together on March. “The students and other pedestrians had to wait for at least 10-15 minutes to cross the road. It is a long-pending demand which will be a relief for 120,00 students studying here,” said Fr John C C, principal, St Mary HSS.