Thiruvananthapuram: The students and teachers of St Mary’s Higher Secondary School can now heave a sigh of relief as the city corporation has started the work of a foot overbridge near the school.At present, crossing the national highway in front of the school is a nightmarish experience for them. During morning and evening, the authorities have to employ the service of three to four traffic wardens to help the students cross the road and control the traffic.On Monday, corporation mayor V K Prasanth inaugurated the construction work of the foot overbridge in a function presided over by deputy mayor Rakhi Ravikumar.“Our aim is to ensure the safety of pedestrians. The foot overbridge in front of the biggest school in the state will soon become a model for the entire state,” said Prasanth.The foot over bridge is being constructed in public-private partnership mode by the city corporation and Sun Infrastructure Private Ltd.Part of the revenue earned from advertising on the structure will be used by the company to do maintenance work of the overbridge.The foot overbridge will be two-feet wide and around 300 students can use the facility simultaneously. The structure will have polycarbonate roofing and aluminum composite panel pillar.Camera units linked to city police traffic control room will be installed on the bridge to ensure safety. As part of beautification, a vertical garden will be created by the school students on the railings of the structure.SMHSS principal Fr CC John said that the school would take the responsibility of the maintenance of the garden. “The traffic disruption in the area will reduce by 30%, once the overbridge is opened to pedestrians,” he added.A deadline of 45 days has been announced for the project by the mayor. Meanwhile, the major archbishop of Thiruvananthapuram Cardinal Baselios Cleemis has announced a special reward for Mayor Prasanth and Sun infrastructure MD if the work would be completed within the deadline.This is the second foot overbridge in the city after the one recently commissioned at Cotton Hill and a third one is being planned at East Fort.Corporation Town planning committee chairman Palayan Rajan, education standing committee chairman C Sudarshan and works standing committee chairperson S Pushpalatha spoke at the function.

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