THOOTHUKUDI: A portion of the Vallanadu bridge got damaged for the second time this year on Friday late night. Commuters noticed a big hole in the middle of the Thoothukudi-Tirunelveli stretch and informed the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials, who carried out repair works on Saturday. Official sources, however, have referred to the repairs as maintenance works.
The Vallanadu bridge across the Thamirabarani river has been damaged five times since 2017. According to sources, commuters spotted cracks on the Tirunelveli-Thoothukudi stretch on Friday evening. The cracks turned into a hole later that night. Commuters alerted the authorities, who started repair works on Saturday early morning. The stretch with the damage has been cordoned off with vehicles plying on the other half of the road.
A TNSTC bus driver, who has been shuttling on the affected stretch for the past five years, told TNIE on the condition of anonymity, that it is dangerous to travel on the bridge since cracks and holes can appear anytime. Given the poor construction of the bridge, the NHAI must employ safety measures and reduce the toll fees at Vagaiakulam toll plaza, he added.
It may be noted that the Tirunelveli-Thoothukudi stretch is open to commuters at present since the Thoothukudi-Tirunelveli stretch has been under repair for the past three years. In the wake of multiple damages on the NH, the court had recently ordered to slash toll fees by 50% at the Vagaikulam toll plaza.
Meanwhile, senior officials said that it was maintenance work that was carried out on the Vallanadu bridge, even though there was no prior announcement made about the same. The damaged portion was repaired again, the source added.