The alignment of the newly constructed bridge across the Kudamuritti River on the Vayalur Main Road, with a sharp curve towards Vayalur, is posing a threat to motorists.
The acute turn from the new bridge has become accident prone as the road caters to a huge volume of traffic, complain local residents.
The new bridge was built by the Highways Department as part of the flood prevention project executed by the Public Works Department. The bridge was built with wider and taller vents so as to ensure the smooth flow of flood discharges into the Kudamuritti from the Puthur weir.
Construction of the new bridge was necessitated following a decision by the PWD to widen the Kudamuritti River, running for a stretch of about 6.1 km between Puthur weir and the Cauvery river. The PWD is, however, yet to take up the river widening work, pending the acquisition of required lands. The PWD has also proposed to dismantle the old bridge.
The new bridge was thrown open for traffic recently and residents say that its alignment is giving a harrowing time for road users. The approach road also abuts the entry point to M.M. Nagar and residents are facing problems entering the colony. With a school located in the vicinity , school students are also facing much hardship every day, they said.
“The alignment of the bridge is proving to be a problem and it is causing frequent accidents. The authorities should take steps to realign the approach road to make it straight. Besides, the old bridge should not be dismantled and retained for accommodating traffic on one direction,” said K.S. Nagarajan, the Corporation councillor of the locality.
Sources in the Highways Department said that they had planned to put up guiding posts on the approach road to the new bridge soon.
However, the decision on dismantling the old bridge vested with the PWD. The new and wider bridge was essentially meant to ensure smooth flow of flood discharges in the river, they pointed out. However, they conceded that the heavy traffic volume and over speeding was causing problems.
At a recent meeting, civic officials, in response to Mr. Nagarajan’s complaint, said they would take up the matter with the Highways Department.
