THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The much-awaited flyover project at Peroorkada is one step closer to reality after PWD minister PA Mohamed Riyas laid the foundation stone for land acquisition on Wednesday.
The 874m-long two-lane flyover will be built at `55.42 crore with the financial assistance of KIIFB. However, the total cost of the project, including land acquisition, is `106.76 crore. It will be the second major flyover in the city after Bakery junction flyover.
MLA V K Prasant, who played a major role in initiating the project, told TNIE that the flyover will be completed in three-and-a-half years. He said the land acquisition proceedings will take more time as commercial buildings are involved.
“The foundation stone is a first positive step towards the completion of the project. However, we expect more disputes along the way. We must consider all these while doing a social impact assessment study. This requires less land to be acquired compared to other projects. We will give fair value to the land owners though rehabilitation is not included in the package,” Prasanth said.
He also said the tender process for the proposed flyover project at Pattom would begin four months. “The land acquisition is almost complete. So, we can start floating the tender in four months,” Prasanth added.
The state government decided to speed up the project after the PWD issued 6(1) notification for land acquisition. A total of `43.39 crore has been allotted for acquisition of around four acres of land. Unlike other junctions in the city, there are mainly five roads intersecting at the junction, including the road to Nedumanagad and Kudappanakunnu. This creates traffic congestion during peak hours, causing concerns for commuters and pedestrians alike.
Though the flyover has been a long pending dream, the previous LDF government had proposed an underpass instead of a flyover. Later, the plan was dropped as the preliminary study by the Roads and Bridges Corporation found many drinking water pipelines underneath. Following this, the government came up with a new proposal. The plan affects around 25 shops on either side of the road. The flyover will begin near Lourde church at Peroorkada and end near St Jude’s church at Vazhayila. Roads and Bridges Corporation is the contractor for the project.