KOCHI: Old Harbour Bridge, also referred to as Thoppumpady bridge, is one of the most iconic landmarks of Kochi. The only drawbridge to be constructed in Kerala, it had a rope-and-pulley mechanism to raise the middle segment for passage of ships through the Vembanad lake beneath.
Sir Robert Bristow, a British Engineer who came to Kochi in 1920, constructed the bridge in 1938 to connect Willingdon Island with the mainland. “The island itself is something to marvel at,” says K J Sohan, former mayor and Kerala convener of Indian Trust For Art and Cultural Heritage.
“Bristow came up with the idea to build a port city. He set up a seaport, a railway terminal and an airport on the island. And then to connect it with the mainland, he built the Old Harbour, Venduruthy and railway bridges.”
Steel sheets for the Old Harbour Bridge were imported from Britain, and used concrete was generously used for the construction. “All you need is to look at the footpath. It has more than three inches of concrete. Though the iron rods in the frame are placed at a distance, even now the structural integrity of the bridge is sound,” notes Sohan.
And, on each pillar, there is a special bearing, offering a shock-absorber-like effect. People who have driven across the bridge recall a “bouncy feel” to the bridge. The ‘lift’ mechanism is now defunct, and the bridge is not being preserved, rues Sohan. The lift mechanism was last used probably in the early 90s.
‘’The PWD used a fund eight years ago and repaired some of the damage to the bridge. But nothing else has been done for its preservation,” he says. “Cochin Port Trust must bring an agency to repair it. Then it would stay strong for another 30 years.”