The inordinate delay on the part of the PWD in widening the Collectorate Junction has resulted in serpentine traffic snarls on Seaport-Airport Road.
| Photo Credit: H. VIBHU
A topography survey will be done to decongest Collectorate Junction and junctions on either side of Seaport-Airport Road, following which the National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC) will ready designs to streamline traffic in the busy but narrow corridor where goods vehicles vie for space with passenger vehicles, bicyclists, and pedestrians.
The survey will, in addition, cover Padamugal Junction, NGO Quarters Junction, Olimugal Junction, District Panchayat Junction, KBPS Junction, IMG Junction, and Eachamukku. This was decided at the monthly meeting of Thrikkakara Development Forum (TDF) on Thursday. Participants demanded curbs on autorickshaw stands and roadside parking to ensure safe and smooth movement of vehicles and pedestrians. TDF will host its next meeting in October to take stock of the progress of the work.
NATPAC had selected Collectorate Junction from among 10 congested junctions in the city for its pilot project as part of the Accident-Free Kochi Campaign. This comes in the wake of the inordinate delay on the part of the Public Works department (PWD) in widening the Bharata Mata College-Irumpanam stretch of Seaport-Airport Road, although the Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala (RBDCK), which developed the corridor over two decades ago, had acquired land at 30-metre width to build a four-lane road.
PWD officials said the two-lane road could be widened as a four-lane one only if the State government approved funds. This would in turn help develop Collectorate Junction and other bottlenecked junctions in the corridor. Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) too would have a say in the project since the viaduct of the metro’s Kakkanad extension would pass through the southern side of Collectorate Junction.