The State Archaeology Department has taken up the repair of the Wellesley Bridge across the Cauvery in Srirangapatna.
The cost has been pegged at ₹28 lakh and Archaeological Conservation Engineer S.M.Pujar expressed confidence that bulk of the repair work, including on the retaining wall a portion of which has collapsed, will be completed within a month.
The bridge was completed in 1804 during the regime of Mummadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar and under the supervision of Dewan Purniah at a cost of ₹5.5. lakh. It is an example of native architecture and the structure is of stone pillars capped with stone corbels and stone girders and was named after the then Governor General Marquis of Wellesley.
Mr. Pujar said this is a protected monument but the structure had weakened owing to vagaries of nature and continuous pressure exerted by the river flow which peaks during monsoon. It is closed for heavy traffic though the locals make use of it but is temporarily out of bounds when the discharge from the Krishnaraja Sagar dam is heavy.
This is the first major repair works undertaken in recent decades and the vegetation that had covered the retaining walls will be removed and the repairs will follow the prescribed norms of conservation, Mr. Pujar added.
Repair of another bridge also across the Cauvery - Lushington Bridge - at Sathegala in Kollegal taluk of Chamarajanagar district, is also underway. It collapsed in 2018 due to floods and the department has earmarked ₹2 crore for its reconstruction. Though the work commenced in December last year, periodic flooding has delayed its completion and the civic works are expected to be completed during summer.
The bridge was constructed in the 1830s and named after Lushington who was the Governor of Madras between 1827 and 1835. In design and architecture, it is similar to the Wellesley Bridge at Srirangapatana.