Title - Kochi’s wait for Ponnurunni overbridge just got longer

Work to overshoot September deadline; bridge to be ready by December

Motorists and pedestrians will have to jostle for space through rickety service roads of Ponnurunni overbridge for another four more months, since the bridge will be ready only by December.Back in March, Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala (RBDCK) had fixed September as the extended deadline to open the bridge for traffic. The 15-month original deadline expired long back.A couple of days ago, work resumed on excavating and filling the approach portions of the bridge on the Vyttila side. Sources associated with the project said the bridge could have been commissioned a few months earlier if the Commissioner for Railway Safety had accorded its nod for the design of the bridge’s railway portion.“Much time was wasted in speeding up the process for CRS nod. This time, the Chief Minister and a few ministers had to pressurise the Railway for ensuring the CRS nod,” sources said.One reason for the lag is the reliance on outdated concrete-girder technology. The process is time-consuming and RBDCK will have to wait for the Railway’s nod for executing work over the three-lane track.Adoption of steel-girder technology would have enabled speedy completion of works since (pre-cast) girders could easily have been launched or pushed into place over the railway track. Though it is costlier than conventional technology, the rise in project cost will be negligible since the Railway shares half the expenses.

Sources in RBDCK said the agency has decided to adopt the updated technology for its future bridge projects since it saves time and undue expenses and hassles for the agency and also contracting firms.

There was criticism that delay in handing over land on the Vyttila side of the bridge held up work on the bridge’s approach portion. “The work on the bridge and approach portion could have been taken up simultaneously if land was handed over on time,” sources associated with the project said.

The delay in land acquisition has in turn held up the development of the service road on the eastern side. Now, vehicles in either direction cram the ill-maintained service road on the western side, often causing chaos and traffic hold-ups. The footpath too is in bad shape, prompting pedestrians to step onto the road.

The fear is rife that traffic hold-ups in the narrow underpass of Vyttila bridge will worsen once the bridge is commissioned since buses and heavy vehicles too will begin using the stretch. Over a year ago, the NHAI had sought Rs. 1 crore to develop an alternative underpass near the adjacent railway line.