New 30.2cr tender floated for Vellayani bridge project

Thiruvananthapuram: The total project cost for the construction of Vellayani bridge has been revised from Rs 27.75 crore to Rs 30.24 crore owing to revision in GST, change of schedule of rates and actual cost of utility shifting amount for KSEB and KWA. Kerala Road Fund Board has retendered the project at a revised estimate of Rs 30.2 crore.As per the revised design, the proposed bridge consists of five spans of 23.80m, four spans of 13.8m and two spans of 5.95m span. The overall length of the bridge will be 186.10m and width 14m which consists of a 7.5m length carriageway and footpath on both sides in which the width varies from 1.5m to 3m, according to the tender document.The construction of a bridge across Vellayani Lake connecting Poonkulam and Kakkamoola areas of Kovalam constituency in the Thiruvananthapuram is being implemented as a solution to the traffic disruption along the bund road during the showers. At present there is an earthen bund road connecting Poonkulam and Kakkamoola across the lake. During monsoon season, lake water flows across the earthen bund road causing a flood situation which interrupts the regular traffic and creates difficulties in commuting of local people. Due to the continuous passage of heavy loaded vehicles, it is susceptible to further settlement which may topple the road eventually. Therefore, the construction of a bridge is very much necessary, the document says.The government had accorded administrative sanction for an amount of Rs 25crore for the construction of the bridge in 2017. Accordingly, the detailed survey and soil investigation works had been carried out and the tentative design drawing was obtained from the design wing of the PWD. Based on this, the DPR for the bridge work had been prepared and submitted to the KIIFB and financial sanction was accorded.The 22nd executive committee meeting of KIIFB held in February 2023 granted approval for the revised funding of the project. The approach road has a length of 200m towards Poonkulam side and 233m towards Kakkamoola side. Gabion walls are provided as retaining walls for the formation of embankment. Traffic signs and signals, road safety measures, road markings are also provided in the estimate. For the execution of the bridge work, the existing utilities of KWA, KSEB and BSNL passing through the alignment of the bridge will be shifted. In the DPR submitted to KIIFB for financial sanction, the provision for shifting the utilities of KWA, KSEB and BSNL had also been incorporated based on the estimates received from the respective departments.