Blacktopping of road on Kollam's Ithikkara Bridge enters final stretch amid highway widening
National Highway widening near Chathannoor approaches completion, with the new Ithikkara bridge already easing peak-hour traffic. However, unfinished median work, hazardous trenches, and diverted motorists continue to cause safety concerns.
National Highway widening near Chathannoor approaches completion, with the new Ithikkara bridge already easing peak-hour traffic. However, unfinished median work, hazardous trenches, and diverted motorists continue to cause safety concerns.
National Highway widening near Chathannoor approaches completion, with the new Ithikkara bridge already easing peak-hour traffic. However, unfinished median work, hazardous trenches, and diverted motorists continue to cause safety concerns.
Chathannoor: As part of the ongoing National Highway widening project, blacktopping work—including on the newly constructed bridge at Ithikkara—has entered its final stretch. While the completion of tarring raises hopes of smooth transit, allied works such as the concreting of crash barriers are still pending. Nevertheless, vehicles heading toward Kollam have already begun using the new corridor during peak hours to bypass congested spots.
Highway construction has already been completed along the stretch from Kadambattukonam, near the district border at Parippally, up to the Ithikkara curve. In view of the construction works at Ithikkara, the primary lane from Thiruvananthapuram toward Kollam has been closed near the Chathannoor Post Office Junction.
Traffic has been diverted to the opposite carriageway after demolishing a section of the central median. However, a deep trench left behind where the divider was razed remains unfilled, making vehicle movement hazardous and sluggish.
Similarly, at the Ithikkara curve, the Thiruvananthapuram-bound main lane was cordoned off with caution tape to direct traffic onto the service road; yet, several motorists continue to brazenly use the main corridor. Vehicles hurtling at breakneck speeds from both directions onto the same narrow stretch pose an imminent danger of serious accidents.
Owing to the battered condition and narrow approaches of the old Ithikkara bridge, vehicles have been moving at a snail's pace for months, leading to massive tailbacks during peak hours. Daily commuters, students, emergency medical cases, and freight haulers have all borne the brunt of these harrowing delays. The full commissioning of the new bridge is expected to bring permanent relief from the persistent gridlock at Ithikkara.