Uncertainty hounds the scheduled completion of Vyttila flyover by December, with concreting works and launch of girders remaining halted for the past 18 days. This has in turn resulted in most of the machinery idling, while workers have moved over to other sites.
The situation has been worsened by dues to the contractor reportedly mounting to ₹11 crore.
The concern is rife that maddening traffic snarls at Vyttila will continue well into 2020, due to halting of works.
It was less than a month ago that the PWD (NH wing) revised the deadline to commission the flyover, from September to December. The original deadline was May, 18 months since works began in December 2017 for the six-lane flyover that is coming up at the busiest junction in Kerala.
All concreting works were halted 18 days ago, heeding to directions issued by the PWD, following a report by an assistant executive engineer of the department’s quality control wing, about slack supervision by senior officials and inadequate lab facilities to test the quality of raw materials being used, it is reliably learned.
The work on the flyover and allied amenities like readying slip roads on the Palarivattom side to streamline flow of vehicles was already on the slow track for the past over a month due to delay by Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) in releasing funds. The contracting firm that undertook the work went on a day’s strike a month ago, after dues mounted to ₹13 crore. Only ₹ 2 crore of the dues has been cleared, sources said.
The contractor is unwilling to lay paver blocks at the severely-damaged exit of Vyttila underpass and the NH Bypass stretch in front of Vyttila temple, due to inordinate delay in clearing ₹11 crore dues, it is learnt. The non-clearing of dues and the quality report have affected the continuity and progress of the work. The findings in the report speak more about internal feud between PWD officials than about the quality of work, they said.
Studies by experts
Works have not resumed although Mar Athanasius College of Engineering (MACE), Kothamangalam, said that samples collected from the flyover adhere to quality norms.
Now, after 70% of work is over, two teams of experts from IIT Madras and Cusat are studying the flyover’s design and construction.
Officials sources said the work can resume provided the PWD gives the go ahead.