Thrissur: The Kuthiran tunnel on Salem-Kochi National Highway 544 has been testing the patience of the passengers as the concreting works extended forcing the authority to impose traffic curbs. Currently, the gantry concreting involves fixing iron sheets in an arch form along the tunnel.

To facilitate this work, ten gigantic blowers and the hand railings along the footpath have been removed. Additionally, the lights on the left side and the cables connected to them are also being removed. The concreting process, which involves inserting the huge hydraulic gantry system in an arch shape, can only begin after the removal of these structures.

Target of 4 months
Apart from this, the welding work on the gantry is also progressing. It is anticipated that all these tasks will be completed in a few days, allowing the concreting to commence next week. The length of the Kuthiran tunnel, from Irumbupalam to Vazhukkupara, is approximately 950 meters, and the gantry concreting is required for 490 meters. The concreting will have a thickness of 30 inches.

As the rocks on top of the tunnel are not enough strong, iron arches will be paved and welded to strengthen it. Additionally, concreting work over the arch, using a compressor, will be undertaken. These tasks are to be initiated immediately. 

At the same time, the opening of the tunnel before the completion of the work turned into a major setback for the project. Concreting was only done for around 500 meters on the top portion of the tunnel while opening it for traffic.

Meanwhile, the officials expect that the works, including the concreting, will be completed in four months. However, passengers are expressing concern about whether this extensive work can be finished and the tunnel opened for traffic within the specified timeframe. 

Though the authority had planned to bring two gantry systems to facilitate a quick completion, as of now, only one gantry has been procured from Himachal Pradesh. This may affect the speed of the work, hint sources. If there were two gantries, the work pace could be accelerated by undertaking tasks from both ends simultaneously. However, with only one gantry, the work on the Palakkad route can only commence after completing the work on the Thrissur route. The gantry itself is nine meters long, and reinforcing the concrete in this much area itself would require a minimum of two days. Hence, the entire project will take several months to be completed.

As the Arch structure for the gantry is already built, it will be placed in the tunnel next week.

Traffic curbs on Thrissur route
Currently, traffic has been regulated by closing the tunnel towards Thrissur, allowing traffic on both sides only along the portion towards Palakkad. This arrangement poses a potential issue, as any breakdown of vehicles or incident within the tunnel could result in a significant traffic jam in this section. Furthermore, people will experience long traffic snarls in this stretch during the summer vacation.

Earlier, maintenance work was carried out on the tunnel after closing all three lanes of the overpass when a protection wall at Vadakkumpara collapsed. While the recent reopening of the overpass brought relief to passengers, the closure of the tunnel has once again proved to be a setback for them.

Toll collection under fire
There is a growing demand to reduce toll charges due to the ongoing traffic regulations that will last for months. With the Kuthiran tunnel and overpass temporarily out of use during repair work, local residents and passengers are urging a 65 per cent reduction in toll collection. A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Kerala High Court in this regard.

The argument put forth is that a toll is paid for utilizing a road that is fully prepared for traffic. Hence, the toll should not be collected when the tunnel is not open for convenient traffic. The company responsible for toll collection claims that 65 per cent of the toll collected is utilized for the construction of the tunnel. However, bus owners and regular passengers in the area observed the toll collection as an injustice.

Various organizations are also demanding the suspension of toll collection until the maintenance work is completed. Bus operators, for instance, argue that when the tunnel is closed, extracting the usual toll amount, such as Rs 1650 per day for a bus with six trips along the Thrissur-Palakkad route, is not justified.

In response to the frequent traffic disruptions and road closures on this stretch, George Philip, the managing partner of Panniyankara Manimala Estate, has approached the High Court seeking the suspension of toll collection.