Two months after a truck fell off the Moolakothalam bridge across the Buckingham Canal, the Highways Department has nearly finished repair works. Nearly 7 metres of the parapet wall was damaged during the incident and temporary repairs had been carried out at that time.
“Over 80 per cent of the repairs have been carried out. The side wall and footpath had to be re-done. The bridge had been damaged in some other places too and we had included those portions too,” said a source in the department.
The 42-metre- long bridge is actually two bridges in one -- one portion is an old arch type facility and another a more recent cement concrete bridge that was added to provide more width. The cement concrete structure had been damaged in the accident.
Recently, the Anna Flyover at Gemini too had been damaged in a similar accident and repairs had been carried out to a portion of the parapet wall. The department is now thinking of installing a crash barrier type railing that is flexible and will do no harm to the vehicles. An Australian firm had also studied the flyover in this connection.
The city division of the department maintains a total of 14 pedestrian subways, 11 road over bridges over railway lines or gates, 11 river bridges, nine flyovers and six subways beneath railway lines or level crossings.
A former engineer with the department said that a periodical inspection of bridges, subways and flyovers must be undertaken. “Such facilities are repaired only when some kind of accident happens. Many culverts and bridges have plants growing from them. Due to lack of staff, the inspections are rarely undertaken. What is required is a separate wing for maintenance of these facilities as their numbers have increased,” he said.
