Commuters navigating the National Highway in Kalamassery are facing an uphill battle, with a brief 500-metre stretch from Apollo Junction to TVS Junction taking hours to negotiate during peak traffic hours. This bottleneck, plagued by a range of infrastructural deficiencies, has become a major source of frustration for daily travellers.

The congestion begins at the confluence of the Vallarpadam Container Terminal Road and the traffic flowing from Aluva. During peak times, the resulting tailbacks regularly extend as far as Muttom, paralysing the highway. Compounding this issue are two pelican crossings installed between Premier Junction and Aryas Junction to assist pedestrians. Both are frequently out of order. The crossing at Aryas Junction, set up by Keltron, is notoriously erratic, causing sudden vehicular halts and triggering minor accidents. The situation is worsened by vehicles arriving from Ernakulam turning at this junction, significantly inflating the volume of traffic.

The narrow HMT flyover bottleneck
Moving past the junctions, commuters are squeezed into the narrow, bottleneck-like HMT flyover, which is heavily riddled with potholes. Pedestrians also find it incredibly difficult to navigate this stretch safely. For over 15 years, local residents and commuters have demanded that the flyover be widened. However, authorities claim that the project remains stalled due to a lack of clearance from the Railways. Without widening this bridge, a permanent solution to the gridlock remains out of reach. While the Public Works Department (PWD) regularly fills the potholes on the flyover, they reappear almost as soon as they are repaired.

Uneven roads and man-made waterlogging
Once motorists cross the flyover, they face uneven road levels at HMT Junction, where the road connecting from HMT splits into two distinct, uneven tiers, posing a safety hazard. Further down the stretch, the journey becomes even more treacherous at TVS Junction due to deep potholes and severe 'man-made' waterlogging. Despite repeated appeals from the local Ward Sabha to open the blocked drains to prevent waterlogging, local authorities have failed to take any decisive action.