The overbridge on one of the two carriageways of the Tiruchi-Chennai Bypass near the Ponmalai Railway Station was closed for traffic on Thursday after damages were noticed along its approach road, causing huge traffic snarls on the highway amidst the Pongal festival rush.
A large bulge was noticed on the “RE blocks of the approach portion” of the overbridge, indicating a possible cave in. Although the bulge was close to a pillar, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) sources said there was no damage to the pillar. The damage to the approach was noticed on Thursday after which officials of the NHAI took swift action to divert traffic to the other carriageway. To avert further damage to the structure, NHAI officials, in consultation with the city traffic police, closed the approach to the overbridge and broke open the concrete median near the G Corner Junction to allow vehicles onto the other carriageway.
Although barricades were placed to regulate vehicular traffic on the other carriageway, there was traffic jam for over 1 km on the busy stretch since Thursday midnight as the highway is a vital link to southern districts from Chennai and the delta region.
NIT team inspects
On Friday, faculty members of the National Institute of Technology, Tiruchi, inspected the site. Collector M. Pradeep Kumar visited the spot and held discussions with NHAI officials. “We have initiated immediate remedial steps based on the suggestions of the NIT experts, who will give a detailed report. The rectification work may take at least 15 days to complete,” NHAI sources said.
The overbridge, across the Tiruchi-Chennai chord and Tiruchi-Thanjavur railway lines, was built as part of the four-lane Tiruchi-Padalur section of the Tiruchi-Chennai NH a few years ago and catered to traffic on Madurai-Tiruchi-Chennai direction. The old overbridge was retained to cater to the vehicular traffic in the opposite direction. Traffic had been heavy on the highway in recent days in view of the Sabarimala season and the long weekend ahead of Pongal.
In a near similar incident, some of the facia panels on the southern side of the overbridge near the Sengipatti bus stop on Tiruchi-Thanjavur National Highway were damaged on June 20 last year. The NHAI had taken up rectification work and recently one-way traffic was allowed on the main carriageway.
