Thuravur: Construction of pedestrian bridges has commenced along the Thuravur–Paravur stretch of the National Highway. The bridges are being built at major bus stops, schools, places of worship and other locations where large numbers of people regularly cross the road.

Once the NH works are completed, pedestrians would otherwise be forced to depend solely on underpasses, which can only be accessed through long detours along service roads. To ease this inconvenience, foot over bridges are being established to ensure safe crossings.

In the first phase, 18 pedestrian bridges are planned along the stretch. Work has already started at Alakkaparambu in Thuravur and near the Milma factory at Pattanakkad. Earlier proposals for bridges at Puthenchantha and Ponnamveli have been shelved in the face of still resistance from locals, who instead demanded underpasses. Construction at the remaining sites will proceed as the initial works progress from the Thuravur side.

Steel beams for the bridges have started arriving at the designated sites. Each structure is being built by laying piles and a three-metre-wide concrete base, on which a foot over bridge up to 10 metres high will be erected. The bridges will feature steel staircases, a width of 2 metres and a length of 45 metres. Materials for other sites, including Pattanakkad and Puthiyakavu junctions, have also begun to be unloaded.