Thiruvananthapuram: The subway proposed at East Fort under the integrated transit node of smart city project is likely to be abandoned.
In a review meeting convened by mayor Arya Rajendran here on Thursday, feasibility of the project was pointed out.
Town planning department has already raised queries regarding the need for a subway as well as a foot overbridge (FOB) at East Fort.
The civic body is tying up with private partners to construct a FoB at East Fort.
Besides this issue, the vulnerability of the area due to waterlogging and flash floods was also discussed which further led to officials flagging the possibility of flooding in the subway.Although the project report had taken care of maximum flood level, Smart City Thiruvananthapuram Ltd (SCTL) pointed out that the periodic cleaning of Amayizhanjan and Pazhavangadi canals which often swell and overflow during showers cannot be included in the scope of work.
The pumping system was also integrated in the project however in the incidence of heavy flooding, the operational capacity will have to be ascertained, it was cited in the meeting.The city corporation will now invite suggestions from councillors in area-based development zone included under smart city scheme.
A new proposal will be communicated to SCTL.
The decision regarding the subway project will be presented in the next board meeting.
The integrated transit node includes four major components — subway, smart road, restoration of Gandhi park and construction of bus queue shelter.
The road around Gandhi park would be developed as smart road which will have storm water drain and underground multi-utility ducting.
The area in the Gandhi park which would be affected by the project will be restored under the scheme.
As per the scope of work in request for proposal document, the integrated transit node at East Fort envisions a well-connected, safe and accessible city centre with the integration of all public amenities like religious, commercial as well as city-level functions in a more cohesive and continuous way.
The focus is on ensuring pedestrian safety in a place with high pedestrian footfall and recurring conflicts of pedestrian and vehicular movement, the document notes.Traffic management during the construction has also been included in the scope of work.
SCTL had retendered the project three times before the work was awarded.
The tenders issued earlier had received a single bid and the amount quoted was excessively higher than the project estimate.
The contractor had reportedly quoted high price for the project taking into account various risk factors involved in undertaking a project in a spot with high traffic volume.
The project was proposed to be implemented at a cost of Rs 22 crore.