Soil settlement turns Kochi’s flyovers into accident zones

Kochi: NH bypass, meant to ease the city's traffic woes, is turning into an accident trap. The incident in which a KSRTC passenger Job K J was thrown off his seat and suffered serious head injuries when the bus hit an uneven slope at the section where the approach road merges with Kumbalam bridge, has once again exposed the bypass's engineering lapses. It has abrupt transitions and uneven slopes.According to NHAI officials, the main reason is ‘soil settlement', the gradual sinking or compression of the ground beneath the flyovers after construction as they are built over varied soil conditions, mostly reclaimed land in Kochi. The issue is not a matter of concern at Kumbalam bridge alone, but also at flyovers at Kundanoor, Vyttila and Palarivattom, all constructed and managed by public works department (PWD). "The uneven slope due to ‘settlement' issue is also there at the entry point of Kumbalam-Aroor bridge. An expert committee visited and examined the spots on Dec 4, 2025. We hope to come out with a possible solution," said a senior NHAI official. "Soil settlement due to consolidation is a significant issue in geotechnical engineering, especially in coastal regions in Ernakulam. It results in long-term gradual sinking of the approach road structure, while that of the bridge remains the same. This results in height difference. The engineers experienced similar challenges while setting up overbridges in Alappuzha-Changanassery section, where too, the soil layer is soft. However, there is a standard solution for this issue, especially how to compact and do the filling of the approach road near the intersection. The issue doesn't occur in relatively new bridges, constructed in the past few years," said Samson Mathew, professor, civil engineering department, NIT Trichy, and former director of National Transportation Planning & Research Centre. Meanwhile, it is ordinary commuters who suffer. "Job was sitting at the very last row. The bus was proceeding swiftly as there was less traffic on the road. Suddenly, we felt a jolt and Job was thrown off his seat and his head hit the iron rod of the luggage berth above," said Jeejamol, Job's wife. VPS Lakeshore hospital spokesperson said this was not the first such incident and that they had three other cases where people were injured in a similar manner. Sahadevan Nambiar, who headed Kochi-Aroor Tollways, which was in charge of toll collection and maintenance of NH-66 section for nine years, acknowledged the issue. "These slopes are often the result of 'settlement' of the land. We used to regularly fill the uneven slope and do tarring at regular intervals to fix the issue. A permanent solution would need blocking traffic for a long period, which we can't afford," he said. The Kundannoor flyover also has a similar flaw. "Two-wheelers are the most affected, as the riders could lose balance as the slope is barely noticeable, especially at nights," said Manoj Madhavan, a native of Panangad, who regularly commutes through the section.