Kochi metro rail civil work to begin by this April-May

The Phase-I will cover a total length of 26 kilometre with 22 stations

The civil work of the Rs 5181-crore Kochi metro rail project will commence by this April-May and will be completed in four phases. The Phase-I will be from Aluva to Kalamassery, followed by Kalamassery to Jawaharlal Nehru (JLN) Stadium, JLN Stadium to south railway station and from south railway station to Pettah (Thripunithura), stretching a total length of 26 kilometre and having 22 stations.

A high-level meeting convened by Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) to discuss and strategise the traffic diversion plan during the construction has chalked out a draft plan on Tuesday. The plan is handed over to the police and other key departments to formulate a detailed action plan. A review meeting will be held in two weeks to finalise it, KMRL said.

The meeting observed some general principles and decided to deliberate the plan further. In order to start the civil work, four metre of land from either side of the main roads will be barricaded. This is because the work on the pillars and viaduct will occupy about eight-metre width of the road - four metre on either side of the four-lane road. The work is planned in stretches of 200 metre, hence the road widening will be taken up accordingly. Necessary traffic signs, lights, warnings boards, speed regulators and traffic controls at entry points of by-roads will be displayed. To ensure the two-lane facility, road widening will be taken up on either side of the main roads.

Steps will also be taken to ensure two-lane traffic flow on either side of the Aluva-Edappally highway, and many narrow portions of the Edappally-M.G. Road-Pettah stretch will have to reckon with single-lane traffic. Here, alternative roads will be constructed to divert vehicles. Roads will be widened and parking will be banned wherever necessary to ensure two-lane traffic in the city.