Having been at the receiving end of public ire for the past several months owing to the pathetic state of Civil Line Road that links Palarivattom with Kakkanad, the PWD (Roads Wing) has set October 31 as the deadline to complete patch work on the stretch. Two engineers were suspended 10 days ago for inordinate delay in carrying out repair work on the severely-potholed corridor that links the city with the collectorate, Infopark, special economic zones, and a whole lot of government and commercial establishments in Kakkanad. Repair work began on Saturday in the corridor as potholes were causing traffic hold-ups and accidents. A few potholed stretches like those at Jos Junction on MG Road will be repaired this month. Other arterial roads like Banerjee Road and Shanmugham Road are in reasonably good condition, said a PWD official. On the inordinate delay in completing repair work on Park Avenue Road that links Broadway and Rajendra Maidan, he said none had responded to tenders floated for laying paver blocks on the stretch. This is due for tendering again. Similarly, tenders will be floated for the fourth time to surface the Thopumpady-Edakochi-Aroor Road using bituminous concrete as none came forward in the first two tenders, and the third was well above the estimated amount. Tendering process is under way for repair of damaged roads in suburban towns like Angamaly and Aluva, he added. On its part, the PWD (NH Wing) is facing flak for not repairing potholed parts of the NH Bypass in the vicinity of flyover construction sites at Vyttila and Kundanoor. The approach road to the Vyttila underpass too is in a deplorable state, though the PWD Superintending Engineer's office is located next door. Palarivattom flyover The Roads and Bridges Development Corporation (RBDCK) has not resurfaced the Palarivattom flyover, despite public outcry over huge potholes dotting the structure within months of its commissioning in 2016. Accidents are the norm on the bridge when vehicles apply sudden brake or swerve to avoid potholes, the traffic police said. The flyover has also developed cracks at six places, according to a study done by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

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