2 days ago
Work on first phase of Mananchira-Vellimadukunnu road widening project to begin on June 16
Public Works Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas will inaugurate the work on the four-laning of the Mananchira–Vellimadukunnu Road on June 16. In the first phase, the 5.32-km stretch from Mananchira to Malaparmba will be developed. The land acquired for the road development has already been handed over to Midland Contracting Pvt Ltd., which won the bid for the work.
Meanwhile, work on drainages has already begun at Mananchira where the road begins. The plan is to complete the drainage work before the road is laid. Works are carried out mostly at night to avoid traffic congestion and inconvenience to commuters during day time.
The widening of the Mananchira-Vellimadukunnu Road is a long-pending dream of city commuters. The Mananchira-Vellimadukunnu Road Action Committee has been fighting a battle for over 15 years to realise the dream, as it seemed a distant one despite the allocation of funds from time to time.
The 8.4-km road is being developed under the City Road Improvement Project at an estimated cost of ₹481.94 crore. A total of ₹344.5 crore has already been sanctioned for land acquisition and administrative sanction of ₹137.44 crore has been given for road construction.
The first phase is being constructed at a cost of ₹79.90 crore. The road will be 24-metres wide with concrete drainages and will have two-metre wide footpath on both sides and a two-metre median on which streetlights will be installed. As many as 21 bus stops, seven bus bays, a foot overbridge near the Civil Station and traffic signals at junctions are also part of the project.
Meanwhile, the Mananchira- Vellimadukunnu Road Action Committee has demanded that tenders be floated for the remaining three-km stretch of the road from Malaparamba to Vellimadukunnu immediately. 'The State government has put the remaining work on the back burner as it is part of the National Highway 766 and hence is to be developed by the NHAI,' it said. However, the Committee said, the NHAI had not yet announced any plans to develop the stretch.
