THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Until now the benchmark when it comes to excellent road stretches in the capital city was Museum-Kowdiar road.
Now the World Bank-sanctioned Vellayambalam - Thampanoor and Pallimukku - Medical College roads are going to overtake the ‘royal corridor’. But a traffic expert has cast aspersions on the public works department officials compromising on landowners' demands.
The four-lane Museum – Kowdiar road has always been a favourite of motorists and pedestrians alike.
With good driveway, footpaths with avenue trees, roundabouts with garden and street lights, the stretch has been a class apart. But over the last several years, racing here proved dangerous for motorists and walkers.
It led the motor vehicle department to set up an advanced system to detect overspeeding along the Kowdiar - Vellayambalam stretch given rampant rash dri-ving and accidents. Ev-en though speed breakers are in place, the sp-eedsters have started targeting byroads betw-een the Jawahar Nagar to Vellayambalam, especially at night.
A leading traffic expe-rt said he had apprehensions about the competence of PWD officials on implementing the projects as per world standards.
“If the government is serious, then they should be relying on a competent agency to prepare the DPR. It will backfire if the PWD officials do it. The guidelines and specifications have to be maintained and above all the PWD should ensure overall sustainability,” he told DC.
He has reasons to say so as there has been an instance of allegations against a section of PWD officials in the Kowdiar – Peroorkada road stretch where instead of 7.5-metre width, the authorities compromised to landowners reducing it to six metres and this is a classic example of an unscientific road.
