Cheruthoni, the district headquarters, will soon get the first signature bridge in the State.
The bridge to be constructed across the Periyar in the foothills of the Idukki dam on National Highway 185 is also aimed at attracting tourists. It will have separate space for vehicles and pedestrians.
The bridge is designed in such a way that the history of the Idukki dam would get prominence.
There will be two posts on the two sides of the bridge denoting the Kuravan and Kurathi hills, at the two ends of the arch dam.
The new bridge became a necessity as traffic had to be suspended for days together when the bridge, made at the time of the construction of the dam, submerged during the August floods of 2018, said Joice George, MP. The new bridge would be high enough to remain unaffected even if the Idukki dam is opened and the flood waters are let out, he said. The signature bridge would be the third one after the ones in Goa and Delhi, he said.
Tourist attraction
It would be a tourist attraction, as Cheruthoni witnesses tourist crowds during festival seasons when the dam is opened for the public.
The surface of the bridge would be 140 metres long and 16 metres wide. The two sides would have walkways.
The keeling would be done for a width of 10 metres and a separate area of 1.5 metres would be left for movement of small vehicles. The vehicles and walkways would be separated with crash barriers, he added.
Two check-dams
There would be two check-dams on either side of the bridge and boat services held for the tourists. The design of the dams would be in a way as to allow the free movement of the dam waters.
When the current bridge at Cheruthony was damaged, a team led by Y. Balakrishna, Additional Director General, Ministry of National Highways, visited the place and held discussions with the Public Works Department Minster G. Sudhakaran. The cost of the new bridge would be around ₹50 crore, Mr George said.
