Mattancherry Bridge Toll Free?

Q: Hello I am moving to Mattancherry and what to know the current update on the bridge toll fee. How come the GCDA decided to revoke the toll amount?

Rajagopal Menon, Kochi

31st July 2014

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Replies (5)

I heard that GCDA is planning on involving public participation to improve the condition of the bridge. The chairman has said that he is going to take the suggestions of private bus owners, merchants and traders' organizations and members of chambers of commerce to get a better idea as to where exactly road work needs to be carried out. He's also going to take the opinions of corporation councillors from west Kochi region and representatives of various political parties. People from west Kochi can seriously chill out now that this high toll is done with. Perfect time for you to move here! :)

Sreekutty Nair, Kochi

31st July 2014

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Gammon actually asked for a compensation of around 68 crore to stop the toll collection because they hadn't made their initial investment back or something. Or they wanted compensation from GCDA because they were taking over the upkeep of the bridge from Gammon company. But now GCDA has agreed to only give 31 crore in compensation, which gammon has had to settle for. This happened sometime around end of April. All auto drivers, motorists, bus drivers and the general public were invited to witness the stoppage of toll collection on this bridge. it was quite a big event that traffic had actually stopped for over an hour because of this!

Ganesh Nambiar, Kochi

31st July 2014

Comment

Apparently this bridge has a lot of problems now though. I think GCDA has full control of the bridge although relugar maintenance works are not happening. This bridge has been there since 1940 and is a very old infrastructural facility that stands to this day. It's made of wood in the middle so that it can lift up allowing ships to pass through. It's a very useful bridge for Kochi. But the bridge is still not 100 years old so it's not considered to be a heritage monument. that doesn't mean that GCDA shouldn't solve the issue of the breaking down of the wood on the road.

Vineet David, Kochi

31st July 2014

Comment

Yeah the builder firm had actually collected a total of 43.93 crores for these past 13 years as toll fee. Motorists and car drivers protested against this toll because in 2001 Gammon ltd was asking for a multiple toll fee that they would have to pay everytime they passed the toll booth. But some cars had to take multiple trips a day, so they had a huge problem with paying that amount as it adds to their operational expense. The UDF government actually wanted to extend this toll collection for 6 years more but then thankgod the LDF government decided that toll would end as per the agreement. This is very good news as now we don't have to pay toll ever again on Mattancherry bridge.

Micheal George, Kochi

31st July 2014

Comment

Actually the Mattancherry Build Operate and Transfer bridge project ended sometime in April and that's why toll collection for this bridge also stopped. This bridge project was undertaken by Gammon Infrastructure Projects Ltd. and the project was very costly. That's why there was such a heavy toll fee imposed on motorists for 13 years and 9 months. This toll was there since 2001 when the project began. Gammon Ltd had signed an agreement with the state government and Greater Cochin Development Authority for the tenure of this toll fee. Now GCDA has taken over the bridge to keep up with the maintenance works of the bridge.

Amal Anthony, Kochi

31st July 2014

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