THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Construction of the proposed service bridge at NH 66 bypass at Thiruvallam is likely to be delayed as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) headquarters has asked the NHAI regional office to revise the project. Though the Union Government had given the nod to construct the service bridge while retaining the old bridge, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) headquarters wants the project to be implemented after demolishing the old bridge.
Earlier, NHAI regional office had approached the Centre to construct a service road without demolishing the old one. As per the plan, the new service bridge was for motorists coming from Ambalathara to Thiruvallam and Pachalloor while the old bridge will be the main carriage way of the NH bypass. However, the new proposal by the NHAI headquarters has put the regional office in a fix as the latter needs to come up with a new design for the project.
“We are in talks with the headquarters to resolve the issue. As per our earlier proposal, we only need to construct a service bridge so that the vehicles coming from the Ambalathara side could go through it without affecting the one-way at Thiruvallam. The old bridge can be used as the main route for the bypass. But as the headquarters has asked to demolish the old bridge, we have to redesign the project.
However, we are trying our best to convince the headquarters to retain the old bridge, “ said NHAI project director P Pradeep. If the project is redesigned, then the total estimate of the project will also be revised. Earlier, the NHAI had met with the road safety consultant National Transport and Research Centre to prepare the total estimate of the project. The highway authority can start the initial proceedings, including the design of the service bridge, only after getting the estimate. Recently, PWD minister P A Mohamed Riyas visited the spot and urged the NHAI to construct a new bridge on a war footing.
The proposed service bridge is expected to bring down frequent accidents due to one-way rule violations by motorists near the Thiruvallam Parasurama temple. Thiruvallam junction is one of the busiest places in Thiruvananthapuram, with vehicles travelling towards Kovalam, Pachalloor and East Fort or Ambalathara passing through the junction. Frequent accidents in the junction had become a usual thing here making the journey through the old Thiruvallam bridge a nightmare for commuters.
Motorists from Pachalloor and Kovalam who use the old bridge to enter Ambalathara often collide with those coming in from Kumarichantha. As per the statistics available with the police, 20 accidents have occurred on the old bridge in the past three years. Motorists from Kovalam should take the U-turn at Kumarichantha signal if they want to enter Thiruvallam junction. But those entering Ambalathara or Pachalloor prefer the U-turn on the national highway. This is dangerous for both the commuters and those coming from Kumarichantha. However, the construction of a new service road will help the motorists from Ambalathara side reach Thiruvallam junction without entering the old bridge.
