An end to city’s traffic woes?

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Here is a reason for the capital city residents to rejoice—the traffic on the city roads will finally be reduced with the 26-km-long Kazhakoottam-Mukkola getting commissioned on Tuesday. This is the first phase of the 43-km-long Kazhakoottam-Karode NH 66 bypass. With the major stretch connecting Kazhakoottam and Mukkola opening, city residents and experts believe that commuters from the Tamil Nadu and Northern Kerala can dodge the crowded city roads.

According to P Pradeep, project director, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the work of the stretch began in 2017. As much as `1,120 crore was used to complete the Kazhakoottam-Mukkola stretch and `700 crore allotted for Mukkola-Karode stretch. “The stretch from Kazhakoottam till Kovalam was opened a while ago. The Kovalam-Mukkola stretch will be opened after sorting out some disputes with the residents,” says Pradeep.According to him, the traffic on city roads has significantly reduced after the Kazhakkoottam-Kovalam stretch was opened. “Commuters going to Kazhakoottam side started taking a deviation from Enchakkal or Chackai. 

It reduces their travel time. Also, it will become easier for people coming from Tamil Nadu to connect from the city tp Mukkola,” adds Pradeep. The stretch from Mukkola to Karode is expected to open by March 2021, thereby completing the 43-km-long stretch.“People going to Kanyakumari will start using this road. Once it is fully commissioned, it will take hardly 45 minutes to reach Chackai, where the airport is situated, from Nagercoil,” says Pradeep. The Karode-Kazhakoottam stretch is very vital as malls like Lulu and Technopark are situated on the way.

Blessing for travellers from North Kerala
According to Samson Mathew, director, National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC), the stretch will be a boon to people who are travelling from North Kerala. “The city roads have started to decongest even with the partial opening. Now, people going to Tamil Nadu can use this new road, instead of entering the Karamana-Kaliyakkavila highway. People coming from the southern side can also avoid entering main roads like MG Road,” he says. 

With the Kanyakumari-Karode bypass fully opened next year, Samson believes that 50 per cent of the city traffic will be reduced. “With Vizhinjam port coming up, this stretch will be vital. The NHAI will consider safety measures for pedestrians,” adds Samson.

In support of development
The members of the Federation of Residents’ Association Trivandrum (FRAT) welcomed the opening of the stretch. “We protested when the work at Nemom on the Karmana-Kaliyakkavila stretch was getting delayed. The bypass to Karode is a very important one. However, we urge the NHAI authorities to finish the pending projects soon and open all roads to the public, thereby making the traffic smoother in the city,” said J Moses, general secretary, FRAT. However, many members of FRAT complained that flooding has been severe between Chackai junction and Enchakkal after the Chackai flyover was built.

“The congestion at Chackai has reduced greatly. But the flooding when it rains is causing difficulty to commuters travelling to Enchakkal side. The drain network was not properly managed by NHAI authorities,” added Moses. However, NHAI blames public and wayside shops for dumping wastes into the drains. “The water movement inside the drains are completely halted as loads of waste are being dumped. This regularly happens between Chackai and Mutthara. The entire stretch is equipped with a proper drainage so people should stop dumping waste into it,” said Pradeep.

Easy entry to Technopark with Kazhakoottam elevated highway
According to Pradeep, the 2.7-km-long Kazhakoottam elevated highway will be open by April 2021. “The parallel service road couldn’t be done due to encroachments. The works have now commenced and we have proposed an underpass in the front of Technopark phase III.” According to Samson, the commissioning of the elevated highway would decongest Kazhakoottam area, “Commuters can now avoid the rush in front of the IT park and easily reach phase III area.”