Metro work triggers massive gridlock at Palarivattom; KMRL promises relief by tomorrow

Kochi: Commuters had a tough time navigating Palarivattom stretch on Thursday as a massive traffic bottleneck brought vehicular movement to a near-standstill. The congestion, triggered by ongoing Kochi Metro Phase II construction, left hundreds of motorists stranded in gridlock for hours.

Traffic jam started during peak morning hours and extended into the evening, forcing drivers to spend nearly an hour just to navigate the heavily choked stretch.

“The private bus I boarded was trapped in the block for nearly 45 minutes at Palarivattom Junction in the afternoon. It took over an hour just to travel from Changampuzha Park to JLN Stadium,” said Sunil V S, a commuter.

The snarls were worsened by recent barricading and mandatory utility diversion works, including laying of vital water pipeline networks interconnected with the upcoming Pink Line Metro stations. This significantly narrowed the available road width, a situation further aggravated by waterlogging following heavy rains.

The intersection at Palarivattom, where vehicles arriving from Edappally-Kaloor corridor merge with traffic from the busy NH Bypass, became the epicentre of the gridlock, causing ripple effects across major arterial roads. School buses, office-bound IT professionals heading to Kakkanad and emergency vehicles were all caught in the slow-moving rows of traffic.

Although traffic police deployed four personnel to alternatively clear vehicles arriving from Edappally and NH Bypass sides through the narrow stretch, it had little effect. To ease the congestion, vehicles traveling from Edappally to Kaloor were diverted via Pipeline Road.

Responding to mounting public distress, Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) promised to fast-track and complete the pending road restoration works along all affected stretches between JLN Stadium and Palarivattom by Saturday. Repair crews are working on a war footing to relay damaged tar blocks, clear dug-up trenches and push back existing construction barricades to widen the carriage space, KMRL officials said.