Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) is giving finishing touches to give boost to the city’s road and waterways transport infrastructure.
The feasibility report has been handed over to the State Government for approval and is expected to be finalized within next 2-3 weeks. The list of road, bridge and waterway projects which are to be upgraded or constructed will be finalized in a week. Following are the the roads being considered for widening and development
- Chilavannur Bund Road of GCDA
- Thammanam-Pullepady Road
- Goshree-Mamangalam Road of Kochi Corporation
According to the KMRL sources, MG Road can also be de-congested if junctions and link roads to foreshore road are widened.
The projects will be funded from the state budget of Rs. 1,225 crore that was set apart for major infrastructure development projects. KMRL aims to upgrade the transportation infrastructure in city by 2016, when metro rail is expected to be commissioned.
KMRL’s MD Elias George had stated that the agency would spearhead plans and coordinate the projects to give an image makeover for Kochi. Agencies like RBDCK (Roads and Bridge Development Corporation of Kerala) will be responsible for the implementation of the project.
Under the latest project proposal, certain selected roads and junctions along busy roads will be developed or widened, footpaths wherever necessary and bridges will also be constructed on priority basis. At many junctions, the traffic police cabins and encroachers which hamper the free movement of vehicles will also be re-located. Bridges that are overdue at Vaduthala and Atlantis may also be considered for the development under the same project.
Junction development
“Steps will be taken to widen junctions since Kochi has ill-planned and notoriously narrow junctions where free-left turns are non-existent, unlike in Thiruvananthapuram. Many junctions in Thiruvananthapuram also have big roundabouts, something which is absent in Kochi,” sources said.