The RoB constructed near the Bolgatty-Vallarpadom bridge which was closed down an year ago following damage is yet to be thrown open to the public.
The bridge was built by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) exclusively for the movement of container lorries to reduce the increasing rush of vehicles in the area. With many vehicles using the stretch to reach Vypeen, Vallarpadom, Puthuvype and Kodangaloor, it was necessary to construct an alternative route which resulted in the commissioning of the bridge in November.
However, just a few days after the bridge was opened for a trial run, it suffered severe damages, leaving the NHAI with no other choice but to close it down.
The unsettling of the soil on the approach road led to the dislocation of a slab connecting it to the main bridge.
District Collector P I Sheikh Pareeth who had taken the initiative to study the initial damage reports said that the NHAI is still sitting over the repair work of the bridge.
Residents in the area said the bridge if thrown open would be a major relief since it could help prevent the congestion of container vehicles along the Bolgatty-Vallarpadom bridge during the peak hours.
This bridge would help reduce the traffic bottlenecks whenever Railway freight is brought to the Vallarpadom Terminal.
“Currently, we are forced to deploy extra police personnel to man the traffic bottleneck whenever freight movement takes place in the area. The arrival of a single freight itself leads to heavy traffic congestion and traffic block is witnessed for nearly an hour on some days,” said a police official.
However, speaking on the repair works which are to be carried out on the bridge, NHAI Project Director C T Abraham said that if the bridge is to prove useful again, they have to extend the length of the bridge.
“This procedure will take much time. We had assigned NIT Kozhikode to conduct a study on the rectifications that need to be made to make the bridge useful. They have suggested that we need to extend the bridge by 136 metres, so the depth of the bridge and the approach road won’t be much different. This is a difficult task and would require some time,” he said.