Two-lane service/slip roads will be built on the NH bypass on three sides at Vyttila Junction alongside the upcoming six-lane flyover even as a decision is awaited on acquiring land for hewing out this wide a corridor on the south-eastern side.
Two-lane service roads along the NH bypass are needed since Vyttila is the biggest junction in the State, which is criss-crossed by over 1 lakh passenger car units (PCUs) every day. There is ample space for a two-lane stretch on the south-western (Kundannoor) side of the junction where concrete paver blocks were laid. Inadequate width on the opposite side would have to be looked into when second phase development works are taken up at the junction, sources in PWD (NH wing) said.
Work is under way to build two slip roads on the junction’s northern (Palarivattom) side. Work on building a retention wall is nearing completion on the north-western side, covering the embankment and a portion of the service road which is at a lower level. The area within is being filled with mud and one round of rolling is over. The two-lane slip road thus carved out will be used to divert vehicles when barricades are extended on the Palarivattom side of the NH bypass to build approach spans for the flyover.
A similar embankment will be built on the north-eastern side of Vyttila for a two-lane slip road. “We expect 50% of vehicles that pass through Vyttila to use the six-lane flyover. The rest of the vehicles would either pass in the east-west (Thripunithura-SA Road) direction and back or will have to be routed through service/slip roads,” PWD officials said.
In Kundannoor, there is space for service roads on the northern (Vyttila) side, while embankments will come up shortly on the southern (Aroor) side in front of two luxury hotels for hewing out two-lane corridors when barricades are extended southward for building a six-lane flyover there, they added.
Flyover work
Responding to a query on the progress of work on the Vyttila flyover, which is slated for commissioning in May 2019, sources said that a total of four I-girders were launched a week ago on the Kundannoor side. Four more will be launched on Tuesday midnight. Three more pre-cast girders are ready for launch. The flyover needs a total of 116 I-girders.
As for the progress of piling, 128 of the 140 piles required is over. Similarly, 23 of the 30 pile caps needed for the flyover have been built. Of the 34 piers (pillars), 17 have been erected, while 15 of the 30 pier caps are in place. For Kundannoor flyover, which is scheduled for completion in March 2020, 62 piles and five pile caps are over, mostly in the Vyttila direction. Barricades have been extended to the Aroor side, in tandem with the piling work.