Widening of Ernakulam North Overbridge
Kochi, Wednesday 9 December 2009: The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has submitted a detailed plan and estimate to the State government, stating its willingness to widen three major roads in the city and also the Ernakulam North over bridge.
The four stretches were among the seven corridors that would have to be widened urgently so that work on the pillars of the proposed Kochimetro-rail project could start. Thus, Banerjee Road and the North over bridge would have to be widened into four-lane stretches.
The approach road to the Ernakulam Junction railway station and the Salim Rajan Road too would have to be widened, so that traffic flow is least affected when the pillar construction begins. A road over bridge would have to be built on the Salim Rajan Road that would cross the railway track and the KSRTC bus stand and reach Rajaji Road.
Earlier, N.S. Sreenivasan, an independent traffic consultant and chairman of the ‘Transport Advisory Forum’ had included the four projects in the list of seven corridors that have to be widened in the city. The other ones are the MG Road, the SA Road and the Vytilla-Thripunithura Road, which would have to be widened to four-lanes.
The South over bridge would remain untouched since the metro-railalignment passes through its northern side.
Widening the six roads and the over bridge are inevitable since eachmetro-rail pillar would be 1.2 metres wide. Each pillar would be secured by a 40-cm wide fender on both sides of the road. Thus, each pillar would occupy 2 metres of space on the centre of the road. The DMRC would barricade a 6-metres space around each pillar for around three months when work is on.
An official of the agency expressed the confidence that land acquisition and widening of the four corridors that it has proposed, can be completed in less than a year. “The metro-rail project would thus bring a new look to the city by simultaneously widening narrow stretches.”
Courtsey-Asianet India.com
