Vijay Vasanth | Marthandam: A flyover was constructed to ease traffic congestion in Marthandam, Kanyakumari district. The Marthandam flyover has been constructed at a distance of 2.5 km from the Government Rapid Transport Corporation workshop in Bhammam area. For this Rs. 222 crore has been spent. Marthandam flyover is the first iron bridge in Tamil Nadu. 112 gigantic pillars were erected on this flyover.
Out of which 21 pillars are made of concrete. All other pillars are made of iron. Since the opening of this bridge and traffic started, the traffic crisis has started to ease in Marthandham. Various restrictions were imposed on the movement of vehicles through the bridge.
In this case, yesterday morning, it is said that heavy lorries loaded with heavy loads stood in a row on the bridge. 100 meters from the Bhammam area where the bridge starts, a 2 meter diameter cement mixture fell in the center of the road. But the pillars of the road were not affected. At present, traffic from Nagercoil to Thiruvananthapuram has been stopped.
Subsequently, all buses were driven through the lower part of the bridge. Due to this, there is a severe traffic crisis in Marthandam. The information about the breach in the bridge was informed to the higher authorities and they visited it in person. At present, barrier fences have been erected around the bridge. Currently, they are consulting on what steps should be taken in the area where the breach occurred.
Request
Kanyakumari Member of Parliament Vijay Vasanth said that the government should bring the Marthandam bridge into full use only after a high-level expert committee inspects it and issues a quality certificate.
In a statement issued in this regard, he said, “The flyover constructed at Marthandam in Kanyakumari district came into public use in 2018. When it was opened, many questions arose among the people about the safety of this bridge. In the end, there were frequent potholes on the road over the bridge and the motorists had a lot of trouble. Every time the National The highway department was only doing top coating work.
Henceforth normal traffic on this bridge means risking people’s lives. The National Highways Department should immediately set up a high-level expert committee to test the quality and durability of the bridge. The government should consider the measures to be taken based on their report. No more top coating work should be done properly.
Till then heavy vehicles should not be allowed on the bridge. Similarly, I request that the Parvathipuram bridge in Nagercoil, which was built in the same period and often gets damaged, should be examined by an expert committee,” he said.
