THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The skywalk at St Mary's HSS, Pattom will be functional in a month's time. Work is presently carried out at night between 10 pm and 4 am after closing roads. According to the corporation officials, once the skywalk is opened to the public, the work of the skywalk at East Fort will begin.
The 72-ft long and 2-m wide skywalk is being constructed as a public-private partnership (PPP) between the corporation and Sun Infrastructure Private Limited.
The work which began last year had to be put on hold after the Public Works Department (PWD) objected. Construction work resumed a month ago.
“Earlier there were difficulties in reaching a consensus with other departments but now work is being carried out at a good pace," said Palayam Rajan, chairman, Town Planning Committee. Since the area faces a huge rush during the day, the work can be carried out only during the night by closing off the road. The plan is to utilise the Onam holidays and get it completed soon,” he continued.
According to an official with Sun Infrastructure Private Limited, 25 per cent of the work has been completed including placing the main pillar and fabrication work. Pending work includes the stairs, roofing, painting and other exterior works.
"Work can be carried out only at night. We need more time. Once the crane arrives, we get only four hours," said an official with the company. "After one week, roads will be opened and we may not need to close the roads for construction. Work will be completed in a month," he added.