110-year-old Koovakudi bridge to be replaced
New 100-metre bridge will link Nedumangaud with Kattakada, Neyyatinkara.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The replacement of the 110-year-old Koovakudi Bridge will come up in a matter of months with one fourth of the crucial work on the new bridge on Karamana river almost complete, PWD officials said.
The new 100 metre long bridge which is being constructed at the cost of Rs 10 crore will be the crucial link between Nedumangaud with Kattakada and Neyyatinkara. The bridge which has been infamous for suicides is also a crucial link between Arukkara and the city via Vellanad.
“The new bridge is 11 metre wide and has four spans with four slabs measuring 25 metres each. The bridge was the last project to be commissioned by former Speaker and local MLA G Karthikeyan before his death. The traffic on Nettachira- Poovachal road will pass through this bridge,” said Aruvikkara MLA K Sabarinathan.
The old Koovakudi bridge which has the dubious distinction of being the most favourite suicide point in Thiruvananthapuram was recently fenced to improve safety and prevent the dumping of waste.
Similar measures are expected on the new bridge to prevent dumping of waste from trucks into Karamana river which feeds Aruvikkara reservoir.
The old Koovakudi bridge was built by the British around three decades before the construction of the Aruvikkara dam in the early 1930s.