The Chennai Corporation closed traffic on the Kodambakkam bridge on Thursday night and completed repair work on the stretch. Vehicles users taking the route however were furious and vented their anger on social media on the bridge being closed without prior information to the public.
“The surface of the bridge was damaged in the rain. So we had to repair it. We closed the road at midnight and opened it by 4 a.m. The work was completed in four hours,” said an official of the Corporation.
Two-way traffic flow has been restored on the 623-metre-long Kodambakkam bridge. “We carried out the work at night to let motorists have some respite from traffic congestion during the day,” the official said. Traffic police diverted vehicles through the Rangarajapuram flyover.
In the past few years, the Chennai Corporation has frequently closed traffic on the bridge to complete concrete work. When civic body officials sought extension of the traffic diversion in 2014, the traffic police refused, owing to opposition from motorists. The repair and strengthening of the bridge, which serves as a crucial link to several localities such as Vadapalani, Ashok Nagar, K.K. Nagar and Saligramam, has been under way for the past few years.
The previous phase of repair work on the bridge included spraying of anti-corrosion material, replacing worn-out bearings between pillars and deck slabs, polymer plastering and grouting.
