Repair works on old steel bridge across Ponnai river in Tiruvalam begins

Traffic diverted to the newly constructed concrete bridge, work expected to be completed in two months

April 28, 2022 10:47 pm | Updated 10:49 pm IST - VELLORE


Repair works being undertaken on the old steel bridge in Tiruvalam near Katpadi on Thursday.

Repair works being undertaken on the old steel bridge in Tiruvalam near Katpadi on Thursday. | Photo Credit: C. VENKATACHALAPATHY

After more than a decade, repair works on the old steel bridge across the dry Ponnai river, a tributary of Palar, on the Chennai - Bengaluru Road via Chittor (SH 143) in Tiruvalam near Katpadi in Vellore was commenced by the State Highways Department on Thursday.

Traffic has been diverted to the newly constructed concrete bridge, which is located adjacent to the old steel bridge, by the district police. A team of senior officials, comprising S.S. Saravanan, divisional engineer, and R. Sugathi, assistant divisional engineer, State Highways Department (Construction and Maintenance wing) inspected the bridge. “The joints on the steel bridge have become weak over the years. Work for strengthening these joints are being taken up,” said R. Poovarasan, Assistant Engineer (A.E), State Highways Department.   Built in 1939, the arch shaped steel bridge is 464 metres long and 7.5 metres wide - enough for two buses to ply at the same time. At present, most of its 11 joints are damaged severely for two reasons. First, continuous movement of vehicles, especially heavy vehicles like buses, lorries and trucks round the clock and secondly, heavy rain during last year’s monsoon that flooded the river. It has weakened the bridge, especially its joints, officials said.   Engineers from the Highways Department found cracks on the joints along the bridge recently and decided to repair them on a war footing as the bridge is a key route for vehicles to reach Katpadi via Tiruvalam, a border town connecting Vellore with Ranipet district. The steel bridge is a shortcut route by reducing a detour of at least 1.5 kms to reach Tiruvalam town from Ranipet, Arcot and Walajah rather than using the Chennai - Bengaluru Road (NH 48). As a result, all vehicles use the bridge to reach Vellore every day.

Officials said that as part of repair works, damaged concrete materials and protruding corroded steel rods from the joints on the bridge will be removed for a depth of one feet. Heavy steel plates with cement concrete mix will be replaced at these joints, allowing them to get strengthened for at least a month by curing. The entire repair work is expected to get completed in two months at a cost of ₹ 20 lakh under the Special Works scheme.  

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