THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
Extending Light Metro from the proposed 21.82 km Technocity-Karamana corridor to Pappanamcode has been found to be feasible by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the turnkey consultant for interim works of the MRTS in the capital and Kozhikode.
In its feasibility report submitted to the Kerala Rapid Transit Corporation Ltd (KRTL), the special purpose vehicle set up to execute the MRTS, the DMRC has said extending the elevated light metro corridor by another two km from Karamana along the median in the NH 66 proceeding to Kaliyikkavila is feasible.
The extension of the corridor up to Pappanamcode can be incorporated after the work in the proposed Pallipuram-Karamana stretch is approved, the DMRC has said. The feasibility report, being vetted by the KRTL, is to be submitted to the government through the PWD, the administrative department, with the observations and recommendations of the spv next week, official sources told The Hindu.
The DMRC has pointed out that extending the light metro corridor from the 19th station will need only land acquisition for the 20th station at Kaimanam and the 21st station Pappanamcode as the median in the NH 66 can accommodate the single piers of the sleek box girders of the elevated MRTS.
Land to the extend of 30 cents each will have to be found and acquired by the state near Kaimanam and Pappanamcode junctions. The DMRC has also projected the estimate going up from the ₹ 4219 crore. As per the current rates, one km light metro corridor, including the civil works, will cost the exchequer ₹ 160 crore. In addition, the state will have to bear the land acquisiton cost for the stations.
The DMRC was tasked by the high-level meeting chaired by the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan that met here on July 19 to expedite the light metro to look into the feasibility of extending the corridor and extending the proposed flyover at Ulloor to Medical College.
On the extension of flyover mooted by government, the DMRC has come up with two options. It has pointed out the traffic problems that will come up once the flyover from Uloor junction is extended up to Medical College junction where five busy roads meet and where there is heavy pedestrian movement.
The DMRC has stated that the design of the flyover at Uloor had already been modified taking into account the movement of the emergency vehicles to the Medical College, SAT, SCTIMST, RCC and extended it to the Medical College side near temple. Along with the extended flyover up to the temple, the DMRC has suggested scientific improvement of the Medical College jucntion to unlock the bottleneck.
EOM/ARK