KOCHI: With the traffic congestion at Vyttila junction not easing even after the flyover was opened for traffic, the city police have approached the Public Works Department (PWD) NH wing with a proposal to widen the road under the bridge.
The police decided to approach the department after observing that the narrow passage is causing the congestion. The vehicles coming from Sahodaran Ayyappan Road and Thammanam side are caught in traffic jam for hours at the junction because of this.
Though the police have diverted the buses to Chalikkavattom, and enter Vyttila hub, Tripunithura road or Alappuzha road during peak hours, widening of the underpass seem to be the only solution to decongest the junction. “The junction is not capable of accommodating the high volume of vehicles during the peak hours. The only option is to divert the vehicles from SA Road and Thammanam side to the underpass.
Though the byroads leading to the underpass have enough width, the narrow underpass is causing hardship. The traffic congestion that witnessed on the first four days on the stretch was due to the narrow lane. Since only the PWD can develop the infrastructure facility, we have made suggestions including the widening of the underpass,” said Francis Shelby, assistant commissioner of police, City Traffic Police (East).
Meanwhile, the police have also suggested demolishing a portion of the roundabout to accommodate more vehicles waiting for the signal at the junction. “We have suggested the demolition of the police aid post’s portion protruding to the main road. If that can be removed, the flow of traffic will improve. We have proposed to prioritise stages of changes to be made. For instance, the demolition of the police aid post portion a part of the roundabout can be done at the earliest.
The widening of the underpass will take more time,” he added. Besides enforcing certain regulations at the junction, the police made some alterations on the pedestrian crossing on Thursday. “Earlier, the pedestrian crossing was right in front of the free left to the Vyttila hub. The pedestrians were allowed to use the way when the red signal flashes. But this restricted the free flow of vehicles to the Vyttila hub and Tripunithura.
Following this, we decided to shift the pedestrian crossing. Since fewer vehicles going to Alappuzha direction use the underpass, it won’t affect the traffic flow. We have already witnessed a positive change,” Shelby added. Meanwhile, the PWD NH wing officials said the decision to widen the underpass has to be taken by the government.