Plan to build new bridge across the Kudamuritti remains in limbo

With no official word yet on the proposed elevated corridor between Chinthamani and Mallachipuram in the city, residents living in the suburbs along the Tiruchi-Karur Highway are hoping that the Highways Department would at least build a new bridge across the Kudamuritti, the starting point of the highway in the city, at the earliest.

The bridge across the river, close to its confluence point with the Cauvery in the city, had grown weak over the years and turned a traffic bottleneck. Built by the British in 1924, the narrow bridge had become inadequate to handle the growing traffic. Some years ago, the Highways Department had even put a signboard asking motorists to ‘go slow as the bridge was in disrepair.

The road surface was eroded with cracks and potholes at several places, forcing drivers to move at a snail’s pace on the bridge.