Guruvayur rail overbridge opened for traffic

Putting an end to the long wait, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan opened the Guruvayur railway overbridge for traffic on Tuesday night.

The railway overbridge is expected to end the perennial traffic block near the railway crossing at Guruvayur. The railway crossing at the heart of the temple town used to close around 30 times in a day. The rail overbridge was a long-pending demand of elected representatives and people of Guruvayur.

“The development of the State and welfare of people are the prime considerations of the Left Democratic Front government. The overbridge is a fitting reply for people who oppose the KIIFB (Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board) and its projects. Many of the State’s development projects were implemented using the KIIFB fund,” Mr. Vijayan said.

Addressing the function, Public Works Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas said 72 rail overbridges would be built in the State as part of the level crossing-free State project. Revenue Minister K. Rajan, N.K. Akbar, MLA, and T.N. Prathapan, MP, attended the function.

A sum of ₹24.54 crore was allotted from the KIIFB funds and 23 cents acquired for the overbridge.

It is the first of the 10 railway overbridges included in the KIIFB project in the State. The Road and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala constructed the bridge. A survey to acquire land was launched in 2017 and works began in 2021. The bridge has length of is 517.32 m and width of 10.15 m.

The permission was granted for the railway overbridge when K.V. Abdul Khadar was the MLA. The work progressed during the tenure of N.K. Akbar, MLA.