Commuters along Civil Line Road have a nightmarish ride due to Kochi metro works

Kochi metro's Kakkanad extension faces backlash for dangerous road conditions, delays in construction, and lack of alternative routes.

The shoddy condition of the narrow, potholed and dusty carriageway on either side of the barricaded worksites of the Kochi metro’s Kakkanad extension — where traffic snarls and accidents have become an almost everyday occurrence — has attracted flak from road users and others, especially motorists and pedestrians using Civil Line Road where the carriageway also has hugely differing width.

The death of a woman two-wheeler rider in a narrow and undulating part of the carriageway at Chembumukku on the road on Wednesday (April 16, 2025) after being knocked down by a tipper lorry, has sent shockwaves among those who rely on the corridor.

The worst part is that piling has not begun within most of the sites that had been barricaded at eight-metre width over six months ago, even though motorists and pedestrians are having a gruelling time using the leftover space outside the barricades. “This shows that Kochi Metro Rail Limited [KMRL] is least bothered about the hardships that this is causing to road users and the resultant traffic hold-ups and accidents,” said M.S. Anilkumar, general convenor of Thrikkakara Development Forum (TDF).

Motorists to and from the IT hub and other establishments in Kakkanad have no other option since the metro agency has not redeveloped alternative roads that run parallel to Civil Line Road. A decision is also overdue on how the Collectorate Junction will be modified when it is barricaded for piling for the metro extension. The situation is much the same on the proposed 11.20-km extension and is in stark contrast with the metro’s Aluva-Pettah phase-one work that the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) executed, when a whole lot of alternative roads were redeveloped and bridges/flyovers built prior to the commencement of piling. TDF had repeatedly apprised KMRL of the need to redevelop half a dozen junctions and 36 alternative roads, including Pipeline Road, before erecting barricades. But none of this was done, he added.

TDF, Ernakulam District Residents Association Apex Council, and others had also repeatedly flagged the delay of around four years in opening to traffic the Collectorate Junction-Eachamukku stretch of Seaport-Airport Road, where serpentine traffic snarls are the norm.

Expressing deep concern at the deteriorating condition of the carriageway of Civil Line Road and the subsequent spree of accidents in the corridor, Thrikkakkara MLA Uma Thomas said motorists, including the elderly, were often found running helter-skelter since the locations of U-turns were wantonly shifted. “KMRL must not forget that the DMRC had spearheaded the redevelopment of over two dozen alternative roads and built three bridges and the Edappally flyover before commencing the metro’s phase-I work. Apart from motorists, traders too are suffering, unable to load/unload goods, and due to the fall in footfall, thanks to the chaotic condition of the road. The metro agency has failed to live up to its assurance of streamlining traffic flow, despite a spree of all-party agitations and memoranda that were submitted to it,” she added.

Wondering why barricades were erected, she said even minimal work within the worksites had almost halted during the past few weeks. “The ‘unscientific’ drain work beside the proposed metro extension is, in turn, causing flooding, and I recently raised the height of my house by four feet to overcome this,” she said.