{"id":15628,"date":"2014-01-07T17:35:24","date_gmt":"2014-01-07T12:05:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.entecity.com\/?p=15628"},"modified":"2014-01-07T17:35:24","modified_gmt":"2014-01-07T12:05:24","slug":"monorail-nh-66-to-have-24meters-width","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entecity.com\/news\/monorail-nh-66-to-have-24meters-width\/","title":{"rendered":"Monorail: NH-66 to have 24meters Width"},"content":{"rendered":"

The state government has decided to widen NH-66 to 24 metres for the proposed elevated Monorail Rapid Transit System (MRTS).<\/strong><\/p>\n

The widening of the 8-km Karyavattom-Kesavadasapuram stretch of NH-66 plays a crucial role in the completion of the proposed Trivandrum Monorail Project.\u00a0 At present, this stretch of road, which falls under the Route 2 section of the monorail, passing through the busy Sreekaryam and Ulloor, has a width of only 10 metres. The National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC), which prepared the Detailed Project Report (DPR), mooted a width of 30 metres for the stretch taking into account future needs. But it was decided to widen the stretch by 24 metres in view of the opposition from landowners. However, sources report that, the busy junctions at Sreekaryam and Ulloor would be widened by 29 metres as flyovers had been mooted here.<\/p>\n

NATPAC officials said that, by giving in to pressure from the landowners the government is turning a blind eye to the future development needs.\u00a0 The stretch should have a width of 30 metres to cater to increasing traffic volume. An official announcement on this matter is expected soon.<\/p>\n

The construction of monorail works can commence only after the widening as pillars for the monorail have to be erected. The beams for the two-track monorail will be erected on the medians. Once the contractor is finalised, Route 1 section from Technocity to Karyavattom can be commissioned in 30 months. The route 2 would take 5 years for completion. Route 3 sections of 8 km from Kesavadasapuram to Karamana will be commissioned along with Route 2.<\/p>\n

Flyovers will be constructed at Sreekaryam, Ulloor, Pattom and Plamoodu junctions to decongest the traffic. The construction of these flyovers should be taken up side by side as it would be difficult to build them once the monorail comes up. The flyovers will be constructed at a cost of Rs73 crore.<\/p>\n