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.With a police checkpost and town bus halts being located close to the bridge, traffic snarls are a frequent occurrence. “Of late, the closure of the level-crossing on the Konakarai Road along the Kudamuritti has been causing frequent traffic snarls,” points out Rajendran, a resident of Pettavaithalai.The Highways Department had planned to build a new bridge across the river at a cost of ₹15 crore as part of the strengthening of the 11-km long Tiruchi-Thindukarai stretch of the Karur highway carried out under the Comprehensive Road Infrastructure Development Programme 2019-20.Subsequently, it decided to take up the construction of the bridge as a separate project and a detailed project report was prepared. The plan was apparently put in the cold storage as an elevated corridor was conceived under the previous government. The project is expected to entail an investment of approximately ₹450 crore. The department is awaiting the administrative sanction from the government to proceed further.“Earlier, they said a new bridge will be built and later the elevated corridor would pass over the Kudamuritti. Though DPRs were prepare for both projects, neither have taken off yet. The authorities should take a call at the earliest and execute one of the two projects at the earliest, lest the old bridge, which is the only access route way for us, suffers damage and disrupts traffic,” said P. Ayyarappan, a road safety activist of Allur. Published - September 22, 2026 06:10 pm IST