T’puram: After years of waiting, the four-lane widening of the Kodinada-Vazhimukku stretch in Balaramapuram is set to move into the construction stage, with Kerala Road Fund Board (KRFB) inviting a fresh tender for the 1.56km road at an estimated construction cost of Rs 25 crore and an additional Rs 7 crore for the cost of shifting utilities.The work is part of the Karamana-Kaliyikkavila road development project. The tender is expected to be finalised within about one and a half months, after which the selected contractor will be directed to commence work by Nov. The construction period is set at one year. The last date for tender submission is Sept 22, and bids will open on Sept 24.Kovalam MLA M Vincent told TOI that the fresh tender marked a major step towards executing a project that had remained pending for several years.The latest tender comes after an earlier attempt in Feb failed to materialise. Though KRFB had invited bids for the work, only one firm, Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society (ULCCS), participated. Since there was only a single bidder, the tender was subsequently cancelled. The fresh tender is the first such move after the new UDF govt assumed office.The stretch, passing through the busy Balaramapuram commercial area, is proposed to be developed as a four-lane road with a width of around 30.2m. The widening is expected to ease persistent traffic congestion on the Thiruvananthapuram-Kaliyikkavila corridor and improve connectivity towards Neyyattinkara, Parassala and the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border.A major hurdle for the project was the acquisition of private land and payment of compensation to affected landowners. Govt has now completed the remaining compensation-related procedures and plans to disburse the pending amounts this month. Once the payments are completed, the acquired land will be formally handed over to KRFB, enabling the construction work to proceed.The state govt had earlier sanctioned an additional Rs 102.4 crore for land acquisition, taking the total sanctioned compensation package for the stretch to around Rs 200 crore. Of this, Rs 160 crore was earmarked for land acquisition and Rs 40 crore for structures and buildings to be demolished.Compensation was disbursed in phases, with around 150 beneficiaries receiving payments by May. The remaining cases involved document verification and other formalities. Legal claims seeking enhanced compensation and election-related duties of revenue officials have also contributed to delays. According to a revenue official, 13 more landowners need to be compensated, and it will be completed this month itself.The project has undergone several revisions over the years. An earlier proposal for an underpass at Balaramapuram Jn was dropped following opposition from traders, with the revised plan focusing on widening the junction and developing a wider four-lane corridor.
