A.L.Jacob flyover fails to ease traffic woes

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Kochi: The A.L. Jacob flyover near the KSRTC bus stand has failed to ease the traffic congestion in Kochi city.
Now traffic snarls on the narrow Kathrikadavu bridge have become a regular feature due to lack of proper planning and traffic diversion.
“For the last month or more, I have been seeing traffic snarls on the stretch except on Sundays. I work in Kaloor and have been using the K.K.Road for the last two years, but a congestion of this magnitude is quite a recent happening”, said Renjith M. R., a businessman.
The problem did not exist when the A.L. Jacob RoB was thrown open on May 12.“Initially, only one-way traffic - from Salim Rajan Road to Rajaji side was planned through it. But later, vehicles were allowed to ply in both directions as the volume of traffic was less than expected.
However, the traffic picked up with two-wheelers and cars proceeding to Kaloor from Chittoor Road, opting for the RoB”, police sources said.
While this is one of the reasons for the congestion, the other is the pathetic state of the road at the Thammanam end of the bridge. “Potholes have opened up there. These potholes were filled with sand and metal. But they came come off, exposing gaping holes on the road”, said Renjith.