KOCHI: Giving some respite to commuters, the Kacherithazham bridge in Muvattupuzha on the bustling MC Road was finally reopened to traffic after a two-day closure. The sudden closure, caused by a mysterious crater that appeared on the main carriageway, had brought a significant portion of the town’s traffic to a standstill.
The ordeal began a week ago, with a school bus even getting trapped in the crater. The closure of the bridge on Sunday led to a traffic nightmare with vehicles being rerouted and commuters facing long delays. For two days, engineers and municipal workers worked tirelessly to identify the cause of the sinkhole.
The search was challenging as the earth caved in, even as the crater was found to be quite deep. Finally, the team located the source of the problem: a damaged section of an underground drainage built with stones. The leakage from the drainage, especially during the 2018 flood, had eroded the soil beneath the road’s surface, leading to the formation of the crater, sources said.
A temporary fix, through metal-sheet piling up to a depth of 27 metres, was implemented to make the road safe. A high-level team from the Kerala Road Fund Board is scheduled to visit the site on Wednesday. Their inspection will be crucial in determining the best course of action for a permanent repair, MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan said.