PERAMBALUR: Worried that the movement of heavy vehicles would lead to the collapse of a century-old bridge in Esanai village, residents have urged the National Highways Wing of the State Highways to demolish the structure.
The bridge, across the stream of a lake on Attur-Thanjavur National Highway 136, has sustained damages due to years of poor maintenance. Thousands of vehicles including buses and trucks cross the bridge to make their way to Ariyalur, Salem and Bengaluru. Locals have to cross the bridge to reach Perambalur and Veppanthattai.
Due to the high vehicle movement, the bridge, which already lacks an adequate retaining wall, is getting damaged further. Besides, trees and saplings are sprouting out of the road and the wall of the bridge, posing a threat to commuters at night.
But even after the construction of a new bridge, to replace the narrow, old bridge, authorities have not taken steps to demolish the structure, said residents. Due to this, most of the vehicles are still using the old bridge instead of the new one, they added.
C Krishnan, a resident of Esanai, told TNIE, "The old bridge is very narrow. Since it hasn't been demolished, there is confusion among motorists as to which bridge to cross. Due to this, many vehicles are using the old bridge without realising the danger. Sometimes, accidents happen when vehicles from opposite sides attempt to cross the narrow bridge at the same time."
He pointed out that the bridge is in danger of collapsing if heavy vehicles continue to cross it.
S Sivakumar, a commuter from Thalaivasal, said, "There is no notice board indicating that the two bridges join the same road. Thus I used the old bridge thinking that the new bridge goes into the village. This is causing inconvenience to vehicles coming from other districts."
"Trees and saplings growing on the bridge pose a danger. There is also a risk of vehicles falling into pits at night due to lack of adequate retaining wall and lighting facilities," he added.
Besides the issues with the old bridge, the locals have also sought the widening of the alternative bridge which was constructed in 2009.
When contacted, a senior National Highways Wing (Perambalur) official said, "This road is going to be converted into a four-lane road. Then we are going to demolish the old bridge and widen the new bridge. Before this, we are going to do some patchwork on the old bridge at a cost of 3 crore."