The Alappuzha bypass project has cleared one more hurdle. After a long wait, Railways have given its nod for installing girders as part of the construction of a rail overbridge (RoB) at Malikamukku.
The Alappuzha bypass project consists of two RoBs at Malikamukku and Kuthirapanthy.
The work had come to a halt after a delay in getting permission from Railways to place girders above the railway track.
Permission denied
Earlier, after inspecting the girders brought for the construction of the RoBs, Railways recommended structural changes and denied permission for starting the work.
“As per the direction of the railway authorities, necessary changes have been made in the girders. The authorities later conducted a second inspection of the girders and submitted a report to the Chief Bridge Engineer. Railways have given permission to place five girders at Malikamukku,” a press release from Public Works Minister G. Sudhakaran said here on Saturday.
Mr. Sudhakaran said that necessary changes were being made on five girders of the second RoB at Kuthirapanthy.
“Modifications have already been made in three girders. Work on the remaining two girders will be completed without delay. We will provide all five girders to railway authorities for inspection soon,” the Minister said.
Mr. Sudhakaran has also written a letter to Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal urging him to initiate steps to conduct the inspection of remaining girders at the earliest.
The Alappuzha bypass project was first mooted four decades ago. However, it had remained on paper until the work got under way on April 10, 2015.
The project, which was set to be completed in September 2017 got delayed on account of various reasons.
The deadline was initially extended to May 28, 2018 and further to August 31, 2018.
RoBs
According to officials 98% of the project has been completed, but the bypass can only be opened to traffic after the completion of two RoBs.
The 6.8-km two-lane bypass road will link Kommady on the north and Kalarcode on the south and pass by the western side of National Highway 66.
The road will have two major junctions at Kommady and Kalarcode.
One of the major features of the bypass is a 3.2-km stretch of elevated highway that pass by the Alappuzha beach.
The project is being implemented at a cost of ₹348.43 crore with equal shares borne by the Union and the State governments.
Once completed, the bypass is expected to bring relief to the Alappuzha town from the traffic bottlenecks.
