The new bridge coming across the Coleroon River is being modelled on the Napier Bridge in Chennai with bowstring arches, giving it unique characteristic.
Construction work on the bridge is fast apace and the project would be completed within the scheduled time of November, sources in the Highways Department said.
The bridge replaces the British-built steel girder bridge, which has outlived its utility. The narrow steel bridge could hardly accommodate two-way traffic and was declared a weak structure in 2005. Ever since, only light vehicles were allowed to go through the bridge and heavy vehicles have to go via the bridge on the Tiruchi-Chennai bypass road. Motorists travelling between Srirangam and the No.1 tollgate are often caught in traffic snarls on the bridge, running for over 800 metres, in peak hours.
The State government decided to build a new bridge across the river to fulfil the long-pending demand of residents, and the Highways Department commenced construction work in November last year.
The new bridge, built adjacent to the existing steel bridge built in 1935, would run for a length of 792 metres with 24 spans of 33 metres each. The bridge would sport 24 bowstring arches instead of the conventional parapet walls. The bridge links Srirangam Island, wedged between the Cauvery and the Coleroon, with the rest of the district on the northern side. The new bridge, along with a minor bridge across the adjoining Ayyan Vaical, has been sanctioned at a cost of Rs.75.47 crore.
According to sources in the Highways Department, nearly 55 per cent of the work has been completed so far and the minor bridge across the Ayyan Vaical has also been built.
The traffic junction near the Coleroon Police Outpost, which has been demolished since, would be developed to facilitate smooth traffic flow towards Samayapuram, Lalgudi, Manachanallur and Tiruchi city, the sources added.
