Road closures trigger severe traffic congestion in Kannur; two major routes bear brunt
Kannur commuters face severe traffic gridlock due to concurrent road closures for infrastructure projects near Thavakkara. Residents blame poor planning and coordination for the delays, as simultaneous construction prevents efficient movement.
Kannur commuters face severe traffic gridlock due to concurrent road closures for infrastructure projects near Thavakkara. Residents blame poor planning and coordination for the delays, as simultaneous construction prevents efficient movement.
Kannur commuters face severe traffic gridlock due to concurrent road closures for infrastructure projects near Thavakkara. Residents blame poor planning and coordination for the delays, as simultaneous construction prevents efficient movement.
Kannur: Commuters and residents in Kannur are facing significant disruption as concurrent construction work on two major roads has led to chronic traffic congestion across the city.
Motorists report that navigating the stretch between Caltex, Thavakkara, and the New Bus Stand now takes up to an hour during morning and evening peak hours.
The disruption is concentrated around Thavakkara, where vehicular movement has been completely halted near Aashirvad Hospital and on the adjacent Valiyavalappu Kavu Road for infrastructure development.
Traffic Diversions and Bottlenecks
Under the City Road Improvement Project (CRIP), vehicular access to the approach road near Aashirvad Hospital has been suspended for one month to facilitate cross-drainage construction.
To manage traffic flow, authorities converted the stretch from the diversion point to Thavakkara Junction, previously a one-way corridor, into a two-way street. However, the temporary arrangement has compounded the problem. Vehicles arriving from Thavakkara converge with traffic circling the stadium at the junction roundabout, leading to gridlock. Despite the deployment of traffic police personnel, managing the simultaneous convergence of cross-traffic has proven difficult, causing vehicular queues to spill onto adjacent corridors.
Delays on Valiyavalappu Kavu road
Compounding the crisis, the road connecting Thavakkara to Valiyavalappu Kavu has remained closed for over two months for culvert slab reconstruction. Although the project covers barely 100 metres, less than half of the work has been completed to date.
The prolonged closure of this key link, which usually offers convenient connectivity between Thayatheru and Thavakkara, has forced motorists to take lengthy detours.
Public resentment, poor planning
With both major access routes shut, light motor vehicles have been largely diverted through the narrow Thayatheru Masjid Road, overwhelming the local corridor and creating secondary bottlenecks.
Local residents and regular commuters maintain that the gridlock was entirely preventable. Many argue that project authorities should have staggered the schedule by completing the delayed works on Valiyavalappu Kavu Road before closing the Aashirvad Hospital corridor. Residents have raised concerns over a lack of inter-agency coordination and administrative planning, which they cite as the primary cause of the current gridlock.