The Kazhakkoottam-Mukkola stretch is set to witness major infrastructure works in the coming months. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has issued tenders for the construction of two light vehicular underpasses (LVUP) — one in front of Technopark Phase-3 and the other at Mukkolakkal.
Bids have been called for the construction of the flyover at Enchakkal and a bridge at Thiruvallom. The estimated cost of LVUPs at Technopark P-3 and at Mukkolakkal Junction is Rs 25.78cr. The completion period is one year and the contractor will have to maintain it for a period of five years.
The estimated project cost of the construction of Enchakkal flyover and Thiruvallom Bridge is Rs 54.14cr. The period of completion is 18 months. The length of the Enchakkal flyover will be 1.25km while that of the Thiruvallom major bridge will be 0.170km.
As part of the construction of Enchakkal flyover and Thiruvallom Bridge, the contractor will provide various facilities like roadside furniture, streetlights, pedestrian facilities, landscaping, tree sapling plantation and traffic safety devices.
The state government had issued a revised administrative sanction for an amount of Rs 31.93 crore for the construction of three LVUP near Technopark P-3 campus. Earlier, the government had granted administrative sanction for an amount of Rs 26.28 crore for the construction of two LVUPs near Technopark P-3 campus.
The regional officer (NHAI) had requested for the approval of the state government to bear the construction cost of the three LVUPs at Attinkuzhi Junction, Technopark P-3 and Mukkolakkal Junction with a total financial implication of Rs 35.62 crore. LVUP at Attinkuzhi junction has been dropped.
It was a year ago that the state government suggested NHAI officials to consider the possibility of underpasses connecting service roads on either side of the elevated highway. This request was made considering the concerns raised by Technopark management and employees who worried that they would have to cover too much distance while coming to and going from the Technopark campuses on the east side of the highway. Techies who alight at Kazhakkoottam railway station on the west side of the highway would be the most affected.
The officials concerned believe that the underpasses will not only facilitate easy crossing of the highway, it will also reduce the risk of accidents. Since vehicles traveling along the elevated highway would be moving at great speeds, the possibility of accidents would be higher if the vehicles from service roads tried to cross through the highway.