TIRUCHY: With the scheduled opening of the Mettur dam hardly a week away, city residents and activists have raised concerns over the ongoing construction of a new bridge across the Cauvery, connecting Mela Chinthamani in the city with Mambala Salai in Sriragam, taking a hit from the river water flow.
The new high-level bridge being constructed at an estimate of Rs 106 crore adjacent to the one built in 1976 will be 540 metres long and 17.75 metres wide. It will have 16 spans. The Construction and Maintenance Wing of the state highways department is building the bridge using funds from the Comprehensive Road Infrastructure Development Program (CRIDP).
Mentioning the bridge work having been initiated following prolonged demands to ease traffic congestion on the existing one across the Cauvery, P Ayyarappan, coordinator of the Road Users Welfare Committee, said currently, seven of its 15 proposed pillars have only been completed in construction from the Mambala Salai side. With the Cauvery water scheduled to be released from the Mettur dam on June 12, he expressed scepticism over the completion of piling work on the bridge pillars ahead of the river water reaching the district. Each pillar is learnt to require six piles.
When contacted, a senior official from the state highways department told TNIE, "We have safeguarded the seven completed pillars by creating temporary sand bunds to divert the water flow towards the southern side. This allows us to continue constructing pier caps on the pillars and placing spans on them. However, the quantum of water flowing in the river will determine whether we can continue the work or will need to suspend it temporarily." Ayyarappan urged the authorities to complete the work at the earliest without compromising on quality.