No end to Kochi islanders’ commuting woes 20 years since commissioning of Goshree bridges

Celebrating 20 years of bridges linking Kochi and Goshree islands, demand grows for parallel bridges to ease congestion.

With islanders and others celebrating the 20th year of the commissioning of the trio of bridges that link Kochi city with the Goshree islands on June 5, and the expected commissioning in 2025 of the Munambam-Azhikode bridge that would link Ernakulam and Thrissur districts through the upcoming coastal highway, demand is rife that the State government allocate funds to build a pair of bridges parallel to the first and third bridges in the congested corridor.

The Goshree Islands Development Authority (GIDA) that built the trio of bridges had set apart land over two decades ago to build parallel bridges to all three bridges that have only two-lane widths. Faced with the influx of container lorries following the commissioning of the Vallarpadam Container Transhipment Terminal in 2012, another two-lane bridge was built parallel to the second bridge that linked Bolgatty Island and Vallarpadam, helping streamline the flow of vehicles between the two isles. But bridges parallel to the first and third bridges remain a far cry.

Informed sources said the Goshree Islands Development Authority (GIDA) was short on funds to build bridges parallel to the other two structures, including the one to decongest the first bridge that linked Kochi city with Bolgatty Island. Traffic gridlocks are common here since vehicles from the four-lane Abraham Madamakkal Road have to jostle for space to enter the two-lane bridge.

“The two parallel bridges can be realised only if the State government took a decision and allocated adequate funds in the Budget. Till then, commuters could opt to travel in Water Metro ferries that linked the mainland with Vypeen,” they said.

On the serpentine queue of vehicles extending from Lulu Bolgatty International Convention Centre up to Banerjee Road when it plays host to approximately 10,000 delegates converging there in half as many cars for mega conventions, Majnu Komath, chairman of Goshree Action Council said it was high time bridges were built parallel to the pair of bottlenecked two-lane Goshree bridges.

“The congestion on the bridges and their approach roads can be lessened if the 100-odd private buses that operate up to High Court Junction are permitted to ply to destinations in the city. This would prevent commuters from having to depend on private vehicles which are now worsening chaos on the Goshree route. Consecutive State governments have failed to live up to their assurances in this regard,” he added.

Islanders, who are often stranded due to the narrow bridges would shortly resume their agitation seeking city entry of private buses, said Anil Plavians, general secretary of the Federation of Residents’ Associations’ Apex Council in Goshree Islands, which has been spearheading the cause. “Governments have been playing hide and seek on the issue. The trio of bridges will serve their purpose only if ordinary masses benefit from them by way of the city entry of buses from the densely-populated isles. Contrary to expectations, a notification issued earlier this year by the Transport Department compounded matters, by fixing 25 km as the maximum trip length per bus. This would make their city entry next to impossible,” he said.