CM to open Palarivattom flyover.

The Rs.39-crore Palarivattom flyover that would be opened to traffic on Wednesday by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is the first such structure in Kerala to be supported by single piers.

The 442-metre-long flyover is flanked by 308-metre-long approach roads. The bridge’s pre-stressed central girders are 35 metres long. The structure would decongest Palarivattom NH Bypass junction where the pypass intersects the busy Ernakulam-Kakkanad-Muvattupuzha State Highway.

It was built using funds obtained by the Kerala Road Fund Board as fuel cess. Administrative sanction for Rs.72.60 crore was given in October 2013 to build the flyover and to widen around 200 metres on either side of the Palarivattom-Kakkanad Road as four lane.

The estimated cost of the structure, excluding land acquisition cost, was Rs.52 crore.

Work on the structure began in September 2014 and an agreement was entered into with the firm RDS Projects to complete the work in 24 months. The firm quoted Rs.41.28 crore and bagged the contract. KITCO was the project consultant.

One hundred and twenty two girders were placed during night time using heavy-duty cranes.

A sum of Rs.50 lakh was spent to relocate power, telecom cables and water pipelines.

In the meantime, there is a demand that the construction of Vyttila and Kundanoor flyovers be taken up using State funds, on the lines of Palarivattom and Edappally flyover projects. The State government’s decision to take away these projects from the State PWD and to entrust them to the National Highways Authority of India will result in motorists having to pay hefty toll, said Motor Vehicle Operators’ Association (Kerala). They are already paying sizeable toll for using Edapally-Aroor NH Bypass, said Biju John, president of the association.

THE HINDU