The narrow bridge across Koraiyar on Madurai Road is barely able to accommodate two-way traffic and can be a major bottleneck.
|Picture source: M. Moorthy
Tiruchi
In the coming months, the state road department’s project wing will build a new bridge on Koraiyar on the main road of Madurai in the city.
The project was announced by the Minister of Highways in a recent discussion on departmental grants.
The road, which passes through Crawford and Edamalaipattipudur via Kallukuzhi near the railway junction, is one of the main access routes to the Panjapur Integrated Bus Terminal (IBT), is expected to open soon.
Although last year the Ministry of Highways (NH wing) expanded part of the road between Pagapur and Edamalaipattipudur, the narrow bridge across that part of the river has not been rebuilt. NH Wings expanded the road portion with an estimate of Rs 17 crore approved by the Central Road Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) program 2023-24.
However, the reconstruction of the bridge and the expansion of the road from both sides have been entrusted to the department’s project wing.
Urban residents hope that regional authorities can take steps to expand the narrow bridge across Koraiyar to provide an alternative pathway to IBT located near the Tiruchi-Madurai national highway. Narrow bridges are hardly able to accommodate two-way traffic and can become a major bottleneck unless they are enlarged.
Sources from the department said that the ongoing bridge construction is underway. Once a government order is issued, the tender process begins. The existing bridge will be demolished and a new four-lane bridge will be built. Land acquisition has been completed to expand near-road roads.
Sources said that although it is a relatively small bridge and is expected to be completed in about a year as the monsoon season currents must be considered.
publishing – April 14, 2025 at 5:10 pm IST
