The Finance department has approved a ₹8.44-crore project to construct a new bridge at Mundakkal across the TS Canal. Instead of the existing single-lane bridge, which is damaged, a two-lane bridge will be constructed. The old bridge is 50 years old and the first estimate for the project was ₹5.55 crore. Later, after an inspection by the Chief Technical Examiner, the plan was revised.
The bridge connects Mundakkal coastal area to the city and barely one vehicle can pass through the single-lane bridge. After tsunami, the local people had demanded that the bridge be demolished and a bigger one be built. As the bridge will be built across the State waterway, it will also have sufficient height to allow passage of large vessels through the canal. It is also a bridge connecting the national highway and the proposed coastal highway.
“With the new bridge, the potential of the Mundakkal coastal region will improve. This project has been approved after College Junction and Polyathode railway flyovers and Kachikadavu bridge. The land acquisition process for the construction of College Junction and Polayathod railway flyovers is nearing final stage,” said M. Noushad, MLA. The State government had sanctioned ₹44.66 crore for the construction of railway flyover at College Junction and this includes the amount for land acquisition. Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala Ltd. (RBDCK) is the implementing agency.
The amount sanctioned for the construction of Polayathodu flyover is Rs 30.44 crore while administrative sanction has been accorded for the construction of a new bridge at Kachikadavu. Preliminary steps are underway to acquire land for the 7.95 crore project.
