Most arterial roads in the city are in a dilapidated condition, despite rain taking a break in the past 10 days, further dampening the festive season, which is struggling to emerge from the shadow cast by the pandemic.
The PWD (NH Wing) has not fully restored the Kundannoor-Pettah NH stretch, which was in shoddy condition during the past year after the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) dug up the stretch for pipeline work. Complaints are rife that the ongoing patch work is making slow progress, despite the increase in the number of vehicles, especially goods carriers.
Officials of the agency said the contractor had been told to speed up repair work. “Work is under way to cover a portion of the stretch using concrete paver blocks, while patch work is being done over potholes. This work will get over in a week’s time. The entire stretch will be relaid with five years warranty once the rain subsides,” said M. Swaraj, MLA, who represents Thripunithura.
Barring SA Road which was resurfaced and upgraded by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), most arterial roads in the city hub are pothole-ridden. Officials of the PWD (Roads Wing) said half-a-dozen key roads, including Park Avenue Road, Banerjee Road, and Shanmukham Road had been handed over to Cochin Smart Mission Ltd. (CSML) for renovation. “There is delay on the agency’s part in restoring damaged portions of these roads and footpaths, and it is affecting traffic movement. The Vennala-Alinchuvadu Road which runs parallel to the NH Bypass, which was trenched by the KWA earlier this year, will be restored in three days,” they added.
The Aluva-Ernakulam NH corridor too is being resurfaced. The bituminous macadam layer is almost over, while bituminous concrete work is under way, the officials said. Sources in CSML said ill-maintained arterial roads would be resurfaced soon after drains and footpaths were renovated.
Repair work on Civil Line Road has been suffering, since a few workers are in quarantine. The road with width varying from 8 metres to 14 metres will be resurfaced in the coming month, PWD officials said.
The Kochi Corporation too is under fire, since it has not repaired dozens of busy side roads. Sources in the agency said repair work would pick pace after Onam.