Before the bridge across Bodderu near Chodavaram linking the Agency area of the district could be completed, the causeway is providing road connectivity.
But successive spells of rain have been leading to the causeway being washed away, the latest one being on Wednesday after water was released from Konam Reservoir that received heavy inflows under the influence of a low pressure area in the Bay of Bengal. For about 20 mandals, buses and lorries ply on the causeway. Only two-wheelers and cars can go on the bypass road via Gowripatnam. Buses that go to Paderu and lorries have to take the Cheedikada route travelling an additional 16 km, says an employee of the MRO office at Chodavaram.
The bridge collapsed in November 2010 after a granite-laden lorry passed on the already weak structure. A few months later construction of the 680 metre new bridge began with three piers at a cost of Rs.5 crore. Locals say it should have been completed by February 2013. But the contractor Narasimha Raju says the approval for abutment is still awaited and he has time till January.
It’s for the third time that the causeway was washed away and every time lakhs of rupees are spent on constructing it again. If rain stops it can be done again in a day, it was learnt.
