South India’s longest bowstring bridge at Valiyazheekkal, to shorten Alappuzha-Kollam distance

Vessels, either large or small, can easily pass under the structure, as three of its spans on the Kayamkulam lake have been built within 110m of each other.

ALAPPUZHA: The longest bowstring bridge in south India, connecting Alappuzha and Kollam, will be inaugurated at Valiyazheekkal here on Thursday. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the bridge at 10am in the presence of Ministers P A Mohamed Riyas (Works), K N Balagopal (Finance), Saji Cherian (Fisheries), P Prasad (Agriculture) and J Chinchu Rani (Animal Husbandry).

Vessels, either large or small, can easily pass under the structure, as three of its spans on the Kayamkulam lake have been built within 110m of each other. “The height of the span is 12m from the water surface. Including the arch it is 36m,” an official said.

“The bridge will reduce the distance between Alappad panchayat in Kollam and Valiyazheekkal in Alappuzha by 28km. Though the foundation stone was laid in 2016, land acquisition hurdles for the approach road delayed the project and the construction of the bridge began only in December 2020,” said an official. The bridge is 1.23-km-long, which includes the 250-m-long approach roads.

Connection established

• Connects Valiyazheekkal of Alappuzha with Alappad of Kollam, reducing the distance by 28km. It is part of the Coastal Highway project
• It is parallel to Arabian Sea and Kayamkulam lake
• It is the second longest bowstring bridge in Asia, after Chaotianmen Bridge in China which is 1.74-km long
• It is Asia’s largest tension steel bar concrete bowstring bridge
• It has 29 spans
• Like Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the bridge is painted in orange and cream colours
• The structural design of the bridge was prepared by Dr P K Aravindan, former professor, IIT Madras, who also designed Goshree Bridge, Vypeen, among others. He died a few weeks after finalising the design of Valiyazheekkal bridge