Officials inspect Thiruvankulam Junction during a joint site survey to finalise plans for the junction development project
Kochi : The Karingachira-Thiruvankulam section of the national highway 85 will be widened to 14m to ease traffic flow along the heavily congested narrow stretch. The section from Karingachira to Thiruvankulam has a narrow bottleneck width of 5.5 to 7m on many stretches. Though NHAI widened the highway to 10m on many stretches of NH 85, the section could not be widened due to land acquisition challenges.
NHAI officials confirmed that a dedicated utility duct will be constructed on the Thiruvankulam-Vayalilpadam Road stretch to lay KWA, preventing future road cutting. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Kochi | Silver Rate in Kochi | Bank Holidays in Kochi | Public Holidays in Kochi Stay updated with the latest Kochi news.
Additionally, a 20m-wide roundabout will be set up at the junction to facilitate seamless traffic movement in all four directions without requiring traffic signals, minister Anoop Jacob said. “Preliminary procedures have begun for constructing Chithrapuzha-Mamala Bund Road,” Jacob said. The inspection was carried out by officials across multiple departments. Those present during the inspection included Tripunithura municipal chairperson P L Babu, head surveyor Pavithran, executive and assistant engineers from KWA, the municipal engineer and NHAI officials. Land acquisition will begin as soon as the survey report is submitted. He also suggested several measures to ease traffic movement in the region, like the construction of a dedicated bus bay at Thiruvankulam Junction facing in the Muvattupuzha direction, rebuilding broken roadside drains and concrete cover slabs along the stretch from Mamala to Irumpanam Bridge, and setting up of a pedestrian sidewalk or service road on the western side between Karingachira and Puthiya Road Junction. Download the TOI App.
The decisions were made after a site determination survey held on Thursday.