Highways Department targets to complete new Cauvery bridge by May

Construction of a new bridge across River Cauvery, connecting Srirangam and Tiruchi city, has gathered momentum as the flow of water in the river has come down in the past few weeks.

The non-Mettur season would provide a crucial window for the State Highways Department to expedite the works. The department is now targeting to complete the work by May.

The department, which began work on the new bridge in July 2024, had to contend with the flow of water in the river in the following months and the foundation works could be taken up only intermittently. It, however, took up several off-site works such as readying pre-stressed concrete girders to be used for the new bridge. Besides, the process of acquiring about 2,283 square metres of land and shifting of utilities were also under way.

According to sources, 99 out of the 120 piles have been erected so far. Work is underway on construction of capping beam and retaining wall, the sources said.

A couple of days ago, Municipal Administration Minister K. N. Nehru inspected the site and sought to give a push to the works.

Expressing confidence that the work would be completed by May, an official observed that work had been going on and was never suspended. While the acquisition process had been completed on the Chinthamani side, a pending litigation had stalled the completion of the process on the Mambazhasalai side. However, the issue would be sorted out soon.

The bridge was sanctioned at an estimate of ₹106 crore in the State Budget for 2024-25 and is being built adjacent to the existing bridge. The existing bridge would be retained to cater to traffic coming from Mambazha Salai, while the new one would be for vehicles going in the opposite direction.