NHAI to study two rail overbridges, approach road at Kallumthazham directly, says Kollam MP
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will itself carry out the technical study for two railway overbridges (RoBs) and an approach road at Kallumthazham, instead of appointing an external consultancy, Kollam MP N.K. Premachandran has said.
The MP said the decision followed discussions with NHAI chairperson Santosh Kumar Yadav on the long-pending congestion at the Kallumthazham junction, where the national highway meets a railway line.
Earlier, an expert committee from TKM College of Engineering was tasked with examining technical solutions for the gridlock at the junction. Based on its findings, a meeting chaired by the MP at the Kollam Collectorate decided that a consultancy should be appointed to conduct a comprehensive feasibility study on constructing two railway overbridges and an approach road.
As decided at that meeting, the MP submitted a representation to NHAI officials, seeking the early appointment of a consultancy. NHAI authorities, however, pointed to their official policy under which the agency directly executes the construction of all railway overbridges along national highways. On that basis, they assured the MP that the agency would undertake the technical study itself, without engaging an external consultancy.
“Considering the urgency of the long-pending traffic bottleneck, NHAI officials have been requested to expedite the technical evaluation and arrive at an immediate decision to begin the work,” Mr. Premachandran said.
The change means the study will now be carried out in-house by NHAI, a statutory body under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, rather than by a consultancy appointed from outside, as envisaged at the Collectorate meeting.
Railway overbridges are generally built where road traffic crosses railway lines at level crossings. They are intended to remove the delays caused by the closing of gates for passing trains and to improve safety for road users and the railway alike. An approach road is usually required to allow vehicles to reach the height of the bridge.
The junction has for years been described in official statements as a bottleneck, and the proposal has moved through several stages — an expert committee study, a Collectorate meeting, and a representation to NHAI — before the agency agreed to take up the technical evaluation directly. The next step is that evaluation, after which a decision on starting the work is expected.
The cost of the project, the timeline for completing the technical study, and the design details have not been made public. It is also not yet known whether land acquisition will be required for the two overbridges and the approach road, or how traffic will be managed at the junction during construction.
Motorists and residents in the area have long sought a permanent solution to the delays at the junction, and the outcome of the study is expected to determine how soon work can begin.
