Two-lane traffic on three-lane flyover.

Work on the three-lane bidirectional Melepazhavangadi flyover , the second flyover under the City Road Improvement Project (CRIP), is nearly over.

When the flyover is thrown open to vehicular traffic, motorists will be able to cross from the Powerhouse road to the Thakaraparambu road without getting entangled in traffic. The underpass at Palayam is the other option available to cross the corridor.

Although the flyover is a three-lane road, only two lanes with a width of 3.5 m each will be available for motorists. The third will be kept aside for emergencies and to divert traffic when a vehicle breaks down on the flyover.

The ramp for the flyover, coloured white and yellow, will begin from near the second entry of the Central railway station. At the other end, it will be near the RKV bus depot on the Thakaraparambu road. Technically, the work on the 425-m-long, 12-m-wide flyover was completed on recent night with the concreting of the last deck slab. The deck slab will need another 10 days of curing time after which the black topping will be laid. Thiruvananthapuram Road Development Company Ltd. (TRDCL), the concessionaire of the 42-km CRIP, has pressed more personnel to complete the work. 'We are working overtime to commission the flyover before May 15,' Project Director Anil Kumar Pandala told The Hindu .

Ninety per cent of the crash barriers, 50 cm thick and each made of reinforced concrete and 30 mm bars, have been erected. The Rs. 37-crore flyover links Powerhouse and Thakaraparambu and allows traffic along the arterial road.


THE HINDU