Taking another step towards the completion of the Alappuzha bypass project, the installation of girders as part of the construction of a rail overbridge (ROB) at Kuthirapanthy has begun.
Officials said here on Saturday that the first girder was fixed around 3.30 p.m. on Saturday in the presence of Public Works Minister G. Sudhakaran and other officials. The rest of the girders will be installed in the coming days. Railways have announced regulation of train services along the coastal route till June 25 for carrying out the work.
By September
Mr. Sudhakaran said that once the girders were placed, concreting work would be started. “It will take two months to complete it. If weather permits, we hope to complete the rest of the works and open the bypass to traffic in September,” the Minister said.
The Alappuzha bypass project consists of two RoBs at Malikamukku and Kuthirapanthy. The placing of girders at Malikamukku was completed in January.
Earlier, the work on the bypass project had come to a halt after a delay in getting permission from Railways to place girders above the railway track. After inspecting the girders brought for the construction of the ROBs, Railways had recommended structural changes and denied permission for starting the work. Following this, necessary changes were made in the girders of both ROBs.
Railways granted permission to place girders at Malikamukku in January. The nod for the work at Kuthirapanthy was received last month.
The Alappuzha bypass project was first mooted four decades ago. However, it had remained on paper until the work got under way on April 10, 2015. The project, which was set to be completed in September 2017, got delayed on account of various reasons.
The 6.8-km two-lane bypass road will link Kommady on the north and Kalarcode on the south and pass by the western side of NH 66.
The project is being implemented at a cost of ₹348.43 crore with equal share borne by the Union and the State governments.