KOZHIKODE: The delay on the part of the Public Works Department in approving certain designs of the Thondayad flyover, envisaged under the District Flagship Infrastructure Project (DFIP), could result in it missing the deadline, according to the contractors of the project. Only 10 per cent of the work, which is scheduled to be completed in 18 months, has been over in the past four months, an official of the Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society (ULCCS) said.
“We have been completing works soon after we get approvals from various government departments,” the official said. “But we cannot make a headway when the delay is for the drawing.” The project was announced as part of the 21 infrastructure projects announced under DFIP, meant to provide a stimulus to infrastructure projects in all the districts. The project was envisaged at Thondayad region as a solution to increasing traffic congestions on the Kozhikode Bypass.
The Kerala Road Fund Board has already transferred Rs 56.50 crore for the 480-metre flyover to the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB). “There is some confusion in the technical side of implementing the project,” PWD’s Kozhikode zone engineer N.P. Hydrose said. “But we shall ensure that they are resolved in time so that the project does not miss its deadline,” he said.
“We want the flyover project to be completed as soon as possible as the traffic congestion in these areas is getting worse,” said Abish Nair, a city taxi driver. “There are frequent traffic jams on the route which offers the main connectivity to the international airport at Karipur. This project will help ease them and help passengers reach the airport on time.”
