The Supreme Court has granted permission to rebuild the Palarivattom flyover in a big win for the Kerala government. Due to bad construction, the bridge, which was built under the previous government of the United Democratic Front, was destroyed.
The government had assured the court that renovations would allow the bridge to last at least 100 years, costing about Rs 18 crore.Earlier, permission to demolish and rebuild the flyover had been paused by the High Court before a weight test was carried out. The state government, however, claimed that even if the flyover was repaired, it could not be used for more than 20 years because the quality of the construction was very low.
An action taken by the Government of Kerala to demolish the bridge was taken by Kerala Industrial and Technical Consultancy Organisation (KITCO) before the Supreme Court. KITCO claimed that without carrying out a weight test, it could not be demolished.The government said the KITCO-approved design and installation of the flyover was defective.
Dr. E Sreedharan, Chief Advisor of the Delhi Metro rail Corporation, has confirmed that traffic is no longer worthy for 20 years even after renovation. The government then claimed that the only way to rebuild the bridge was possible.