Cauvery Bridge Reopens on Chennai-Tiruchi-Madurai Highway After Repairs

Traffic movement has resumed on the Cauvery bridge on the Chennai-Tiruchi, Madurai National Highway after the completion of repair and maintenance work taken up by the National Highways Authority of India.

The bridge was reopened for traffic on Thursday evening, bringing an end to the closure that had affected movement on the highway and roads through Srirangam.

Repairs included bearings and expansion joints

The repair work was carried out at an estimated cost of about ₹10 crore.

The bridge, which was built in 1963, underwent extensive repairs after the NHAI took up the work in the last week of June.

The work included replacing 120 bridge bearings, repairing 16 strip-seal expansion joints and carrying out structural strengthening measures.

Sources in the NHAI told The Hindu that all the 120 bearings had been replaced and repairs on all 16 expansion joints had been completed.

The bridge was last repaired in 2010, according to the report.

Closure had worsened traffic in Srirangam

The bridge had been closed on June 25 to facilitate repairs by the NHAI’s concessionaire maintaining the section.

During the closure, traffic was diverted through the other carriageway between Sanjeevi Nagar Junction and Kondayampettai.

The diversion placed additional pressure on the Tiruchi-Chennai Bypass and the Tiruchi-Chennai Trunk Road in Srirangam, which had been facing severe traffic congestion since the bridge was shut.

The closure also led to a large number of drivers using the Tiruchi-Chennai Trunk Road to travel to and from the National Highway.

Although the City Traffic police deployed a team to manage the situation, traffic snarls on the highway and within the city became frequent.

Residents of Srirangam had complained of harrowing experiences during their daily commute in recent months because of severe congestion on the Tiruchi-Chennai Trunk Road between No. 1 Tollgate and the Anna Statue Junction.

Relief ahead of festival season

The reopening is expected to provide relief to commuters who had been dealing with congestion linked to the bridge closure.

The heavy volume of traffic on the highway and the approaching festival season had added urgency to the repair work.

Tiruchi Member of Parliament Durai Vaiko had been pushing the NHAI to expedite the work.

Mr. Durai Vaiko expressed happiness over the completion of the repairs and the cooperation extended by various government agencies.

Source: The Hindu