Flyover, ring road to ease traffic congestion at Venjaramoodu

Thiruvananthapuram: Authorities are planning two projects in Venjaramoodu, a flyover and a ring road, to tackle the traffic congestion in the area.
Finance minister T M Thomas Isaac recently announced that the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) will finance both the projects.
The flyover is proposed from the congested stretch of the Main Central (MC) Road near Venjaramood mosque to near the Leela Ravi Hospital.The 450-metre-long flyover will cut the travel time of commuters from Kottayam and Kottarakkara areas to the city.
Venjaramoodu is one of the busiest stretches in the city, which needed a major facelift, pointed out DK Murali, MLA.
“The main advantage of the flyover is that commuters, mainly those in private vehicles, heading to Thiruvananthapuram from Kottayam and Kottarakkara need not go through the Venjaramoodu Junction. It will help to decongest the area.
“At the same time, KSRTC buses going to Kilimanoor, Attingal, Nedumangadu and Thiruvananthapuram areas and other private vehicles, which have to touch the junction, can use the main road. The two-lane flyover will be 11.5-metre-wide and will have nine pillars. Two approach roads will also be built,” the MLA said.
Earlier, officials had planned to construct a bypass road but a committee, which studied the project, cited various technical problems, said the MLA.
“At a higher-level meeting held at the PWD minister’s chamber, PWD officials, the chief engineer and executive engineers suggested the construction of a flyover. On December 2018, its alignment was prepared and submitted to the government,” the MLA added.
The ring road project had run into trouble last year after local residents objected to land acquisitions. Murali said such issues have been resolved now.
The stretch from Pirappancode will enter the MC Road at Ambalamukku. Similarly, the stretch from the Market Road will join the MC Road near Venjarammoodu police station.
The MLA said heavy vehicles can use the ring roads and avoid traffic snarls at the junction. The Institution for Rural Development (IRD) has been asked to conduct a social impact study, which would be completed in three months.
Road widening works are already progressing along the first stretch from Pirappancode to Ambalamukku.
The total project cost, including land acquisition, has been estimated Rs 32 crore. The KIIFB has earmarked Rs 27 crore for the first stretch and Rs 5 crore for the second,” Murali said. It will have an average width of 10 metres.
Currently, the Venjaramoodu Junction is witnessing heavy traffic congestion with vehicles coming from Attingal, Nedumangadu, Kilimanoor and Thiruvananthapuram intersecting at the junction. Serpentine queues of vehicles are witnessed at the junction, especially during peak hours.
Meanwhile, the junction is getting a makeover under the Kazhakootam-Adoor safe corridor project under the Kerala State Transport project (KSTP). Land acquisition for the project is progressing.