The Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala (RBDCK) will begin work on three over-bridges at Atlantis, Vathuruthy, and Vaduthala in 2018.
The alignment for a four-lane bridge at Atlantis near Thevara was fixed long ago, and a detailed project report (DPR) will be submitted to the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) within a month, seeking funds.
The bridge will run parallel to the Ernakulam South bridge, thus decongesting the SA Road-South bridge-Pallimukku stretch. The bridge will begin from the southern end of Panampilly Nagar and end near sales tax office at Thevara, an RBDCK official said.
Vathuruthy bridge
The agency is in the final stages of preparing alignment for a two-lane bridge at Vathuruthy near the Naval airport, enhancing connectivity between the city and West Kochi. “The revised alignment will be readied in a week, following which the Navy’s clearance will be sought. This is to ensure safety of Navy aircraft,” the official said.
The project got delayed after the Cochin Port Trust demanded alternative land to compensate for its property that would be surrendered for the bridge. Speedy construction of the bridge is crucial since the Railway has renovated tracks and the Harbour Terminus station in Willingdon Island to extend services from the congested Ernakulam Junction station. In the absence of a bridge, there will be serpentine queue of vehicles on either side of the railway line whenever the level crossing is closed.
Vaduthala bridge
The State government and KIIFB have already approved the long-pending Vaduthala bridge project. The proposed two-lane bridge is critical to decongest the northern parts of the city.
A requisition letter has been forwarded to the District Collector for commencing land acquisition for the project.
The recently-built Pachalam bridge alone is not enough to decongest the region. While land is available for the proposed Vathuruthy bridge, work on the two other bridge projects will begin in the first half of 2018, official sources said.
Ponekkara bridge
The RBDCK’s sole bridge project that is awaiting the government’s approval is the one at Ponekkara. It has not been included in the KIIFB list. The government might allot money if Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, which will considerably benefit from the project, too pools in with funds, they added.
