After being a significant part of the landscape of Kochi city for decades together, the old North RoB is altogether going to bid goodbye to the city and would be replaced by the all new RoB by the DMRC.
Come September, the traffic will be diverted to the new side-bays and the remaining central portion of the old North RoB will be demolished.
The RoB which took lakhs of vehicles and commuters over the railway tracks into the city is now nothing but rubble waiting to be removed. In fact a major portion of what was once the RoB now lies well outside the city, as land fills near Vallarpadom and in Thuthiyoor near Kakkanad.
“After cutting down the pieces of the RoB, it is further crushed into smaller pieces. From this the only usable parts like the reinforcement steel is being auctioned off. The rest is cut down into little pieces and transported near Vallarpadom and near Thuthiyoor. When more of it is demolished we will have to identify other places. Since it is more or less rubble and bricks, it can now only be used as land fills or for minor construction work at best,” said DMRC PRO P Narayanan.
But even as the old RoB is going to say goodbye, the new one is just waiting to be born. While the sidebays will be completed and opened up by September, the rest of the RoB, including the central portion, the median over which the Metro rail will be constructed will be completed within nine months of opening the sidebays.
Once completed the new RoB is expected to not only ease the traffic congestion but also enhance the aesthetic beauty of the city.
“What we have planned is a highly aesthetically design. The four lanes are designed in such a way that two of the lanes namely the ones near the Town Hall side will be slightly higher than the other two. The metro, meanwhile, will be at a height of sevenmetres. So once completed we will have a step like structure with alternative heights each equipped with the latest decorative lighting and technology,” said the official in-charge of the North Rob construction at the DMRC.
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