Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Four-lane bridge soon

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: One of the most-congested road bridges in the city, the Marappalam bridge, on the Pattom-Kowdiar stretch, will be replaced by a four-lane structure under the City Road Improvement Project (CRIP).

Vehicular traffic will not be allowed on the bridge from Wednesday as the work has to be taken up.

The reconstruction will start only after re-laying the water supply pipes running parallel to the bridge. The Kerala Water Authority (KWA) will lay the pipes on the opposite side of the bridge.

Thiruvananthapuram Road Development Company Ltd. (TRDCL) will construct a 3-foot-wide support structure for these pipes and those for the water-supply project aided by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.

A company official told The Hindu that the support structure would be completed within a month. The bridge work was scheduled to start soon and be completed in two-and-a-half months.

“As the work on the bridge progresses, we will also start the road improvement works on the Pattom-Kowdiar corridor. The new bridge will be of approximately 14 metres length and will be of the same height as that of the existing bridge,” the official said.

K.P. Krishnakumar, Superintending Engineer, KWA, said the authority and the Kerala Road Fund Board would share the cost of re-laying the pipes and the support structure, together estimated at Rs.2 crore.

Officials of the board and the company have completed a joint inspection of the Murinjapalam-Medical College stretch, which will be taken up next for the road improvement works under CRIP.

Marking of the central line of the new road has been completed, the officials said. However, the work can begin only after the Kerala High Court issues an order in a land acquisition case.

Work on the approach road of the Bakery Junction flyover from the Panavila junction side will begin this week.

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