Construction work on the Vaduthala railway overbridge in Kochi will be formally inaugurated on October 7, with the Rs 88.58 crore project expected to ease congestion and reduce risks linked to road traffic and pedestrian crossings of the railway track.
T J Vinod, MLA, said Kerala Public Works Department Minister P K Basheer will inaugurate the construction work. The project is being implemented by the Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala (RBDCK), with funding provided through the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB).
The construction component has been allocated Rs 18.8 crore, while KIIFB has provided Rs 67.87 crore for land acquisition. The overall project cost is Rs 88.58 crore, including Rs 1.91 crore for statutory shifting. The funding structure indicates that land acquisition forms a substantial part of the project’s cost, alongside bridge construction and statutory utility-related work.
The Vaduthala RoB will be 372.78 metres long and 10.15 metres wide. It will have a 7.5-metre carriageway and a 1.5-metre footpath on one side, providing a dedicated pedestrian facility along the bridge. The span crossing the railway line will be 43.45 metres long.
The approach road will extend 181.25 metres on the Vaduthala side and 148.08 metres on the Pachalam side. The bridge is intended to improve the movement of vehicles between the surrounding neighbourhoods and reduce pressure created by existing railway-level crossings and local road connections.
According to Vinod, residents of Vaduthala, Chittoor and Cheranalloor currently experience traffic congestion in the area. He said the completed bridge would improve travel convenience and significantly reduce the risk of accidents. He also said accidents involving pedestrians crossing the railway track were expected to decline after the RoB becomes operational.
The project’s impact will therefore depend not only on the bridge structure but also on the completion of its approaches, land acquisition and statutory shifting works. The formal inauguration on October 7 is the next scheduled milestone in the project.
