IIT experts check stability of Villivakkam bridge

According to corporation officials, experts inspected the bridge last week and the analysis report along with recommendations will be submitted within a fortnight.
Experts from IIT Madras have been roped in to check the stability of the glass suspension bridge in Villivakkam | R Satish Babu
Experts from IIT Madras have been roped in to check the stability of the glass suspension bridge in Villivakkam | R Satish Babu

CHENNAI: The city corporation roped in experts from IIT Madras to check the stability of the glass suspension bridge over the Villivakkam lake, the first of its kind in the city before it is thrown open to the public.

According to corporation officials, experts inspected the bridge last week and the analysis report along with recommendations will be submitted within a fortnight.

The bridge is part of the amusement park at Villivakkam taken up on a PPP model, where a private party will generate revenue from the proposed digital and water games along with the other activities and pay a fixed charge of around Rs 1 crore to the corporation annually. The orders for the equipment needed for the amusement park have been placed.

This also includes a building of around one lakh square feet that will have sports activities, games and restaurants. For the building, the pile foundation is complete and work is yet to commence on the superstructure.

“The contractor has been working on it for the last two years. We are expecting work to be completed by April-May 2023,” said a corporation official. The project has already run into a year-long delay and was supposed to be completed by March this year.

“The work took longer than expected but we are expecting to open it for the public very soon, depending on the report by IIT-M,” said a corporation official. The glass-bottomed bridge constructed at a cost of around `10 crore, is wide enough to only allow around two people to walk side-by-side and overlooks the Villivakkam lake and allows visitors to see the water through the glass bottom.

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