Decade-long wait ends as retarring begins on Alex Nagar-Aichery Road in Kannur

Sreekantapuram: Finally, there’s relief in sight for the long-suffering commuters of the Alex Nagar–Aichery Road, with the long-pending retarring work on the stretch now underway.

The road was initially slated for development along with the construction of the Alex Nagar bridge, for which an estimate had been prepared nearly a decade ago. However, the project ran into delays after the original contractor abandoned the work midway. The bridge construction was later reassigned to a new contractor, paving the way for the long-awaited road development to resume.

Recently, the 610-metre stretch between Aichery and the newly constructed culvert at Mappini was retarred using ₹10 lakhs allotted by Sajeev Joseph, MLA, under flood relief. The culvert at Mappini was reconstructed using ₹10 lakhs allotted by the municipality. Though the municipality allocated another ₹5 lakhs, works could not be undertaken. Yesterday, the retarring was started using ₹30 lakhs , which included ₹15 lakhs allotted by PWD at the intervention of the MLA, ₹10 lakhs allotted by the municipality, and ₹5 lakhs previously allotted by the municipality.

Considering the prevalence of rain, the stretch would be initially levelled and strengthened. Tarring will start once the rain subsides. For a decade, people here have been facing immense hardships due to the pothole-ridden stretches in the road.

"The road should have been tarred 10 years ago. A total of ₹50 lakhs is being invested for completing the development. The road will be fully motorable once the rainy season is over," said Thresyamma Mathew, Councillor, Chrrikkod Ward