Kaloor-Kadavanthra road to get image makeover in six months

GCDA in talks with KMRL to upgrade the corridor to a pedestrian-friendly stretch

The arterial Kaloor-Kadavanthra Road, footpaths, and allied infrastructure in the corridor will be renovated in another six months, to convert it into a model road, it is learnt.

The Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA), which owns the road, is engaged in discussions with Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) to upgrade the four-lane corridor to a pedestrian-friendly one, as part of efforts to catalyse non-motorised transport (NMT) in the city, sources said.

The road is now among the worst-maintained in the city, what with potholes galore, discernible height difference between the tarred portion and areas which were resurfaced using paver blocks, and unusable and encroached upon footpaths. The tie-up with KMRL has been envisaged at a time when the GCDA’s ₹2.50-crore project to renovate footpaths of the 4-km road has not materialised.

A decision on co-developing the road and allied infrastructure using funds of both agencies is expected within a week. The road, footpaths, drains, and medians will be renovated, while a utility duct will be laid to accommodate power and telecom cables and water pipelines, the sources said.

Prior to this, encroachments will be removed, and a few cents of land necessary to ensure uniform width for the footpaths ought to be acquired. The junctions on either side of the bottlenecked two-lane bridge at Kathrikadavu too will be developed to enable smooth entry and exit from the bridge, they added. This is crucial since traffic congestion at Kathrikadavu Junction is set to worsen when the Thammanam-Pullepady road is widened as four-lane and extended to MG Road and the NH Bypass.

In the meantime, GCDA sources said urgent repair of Kaloor-Kadavanthra road will be completed in a week’s time.