After a gap of seven months, the bridge across the Kallada river at Enathu on MC Road will be reopened for public transport on Thursday.
The 18-year-old bridge links the two districts of Kollam and Pathanamthitta. It was closed since January 10 following
detection of damage on its two piers.
Public Works Minister G. Sudhakaran will inaugurate the strengthened bridge at a public function at Kulakkada, near
Enathu, on Thursday afternoon. The Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP) has constructed two new concrete piers to replace the two damaged piers, after supporting the concrete slab with iron girders.
The damaged piers (P2 and P3) have been demolished, after providing support to the concrete slab, prior to casting of the new piers with the help of jacking systems. The bridge-strengthening work was carried out at an estimated cost of ₹4.75 crore.
Kottarakara MLA Aysha Potti will preside over the public meeting to be held at Kulakkada on the opposite bank of Enathu at 4 p.m. Chittayam Gopakumar, Adoor MLA, will welcome the gathering. Kodikkunnil Suresh, Anto Antony, and K.Somaprasad, MPs, and K.B.Ganeshkumar, MLA, will be guests of honour at the function.
Annapoornadevi and K. Jagadamma, district panchayat presidents of Pathanamthitta and Kollam, and Ajith Patil, KSTP project director, will also address the function.
An Army team, which is expected to reach Adoor in the first week of September, will dismantle the Bailey bridge erected nearby and take it back to Hyderabad.
