Long-overdue digital survey for Thammanam–Pullepady Road project gets under way

The overdue digital survey has begun for the three-decade-old project that aims to improve east-west connectivity in the city by widening and lengthening the Thammanam-Pullepady Road.

The project aims to build a 3.7 km long four-lane road connecting MG Road to Edappally-Vyttila NH 66 Ring Road via Pullepady and Thammanam.

After an initial delay, the digital survey started on Thursday, July 2. “Completion of this is very important to take forward the land acquisition process for the road corridor, which will decongest both SA Road and Banerjee Road,” said TJ Vinod, Ernakulam MLA, who had recently demanded expedited land acquisition process for the project in the Legislative Assembly.

The road corridor was included in the list of Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) projects in 2017, following which the Kerala Road Fund Board (KRFB) took over the project from Kochi Corporation. The then State government subsequently imposed administrative sanction of ₹100 crore. “Prior to this, 83 landowners had voluntarily surrendered 2.53 acres of land in 1998 to facilitate rapid implementation of the project.

This was followed by the then UDF-led State government sanctioning ₹25 crore a decade ago, using which the bulk of the Katrikadavu-Stadium Link Road corridor was widened to four lanes. Another nine acres of land need to be acquired from around 500 landowners for widening of Thammanam-Pullepady Road to four lanes and extension of the corridor to MG Road and NH Ring Road. Completion of the digital survey is crucial for issuance of 11(1) and 19(1) notifications, after which compensation can be paid to landowners and land possession can be taken,” added Mr. Vinod.

potholed road

Although the project continues to get delayed, the ditch-covered but improperly restored Nandanath Kochacko Road connecting the NH Ring Road to Thammanam has created new challenges for motorists and pedestrians. This is in addition to the pits in the rest of the corridor.

Expressing concern over the prolonged delay in widening and extending Thammanam-Pullepady Road to both sides, social activist and Pullepady resident Ranjith Thampy urged public representatives to jointly and proactively pursue the issue with the State government to ensure timely sanctions and funds.

“Once completed, the road will significantly reduce congestion in the city, where people now fear to travel due to traffic jams. At the same time, relevant stakeholders should consider constructing a flyover at Katrikadavu. They should also plan widening of Padma Junction on MG Road and Chakkaraparambu Junction on NH Ring Road, where traffic from the new road will merge,” he said.