The demolition of the Mankombu bridge in Kuttanad, as part of reconstructing the Alappuzha-Changanassery (AC) road as a semi-elevated highway, began on Monday.
Officials said the demolition would be completed by Tuesday. The bridge will be reconstructed with a width of 14 metres. The work is expected to be completed in 90 days.
A temporary bund road has been set up parallel to the Mankombu bridge for the movement of light vehicles and ambulances. The reconstruction of another bridge at Pandarakalam is expected to begin soon. The work is being carried out by the Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society (ULCCS). It has already brought girders for the reconstruction of the two bridges.
AC road work begins
Meanwhile, the work to reconstruct the AC road also began on Monday. The road work got underway from Manakkachira, near Perunna, in Changanassery. A 100-metre stretch of the road is being reconstructed initially. Authorities will study the impact of the work on vehicular movement before extending the work in the coming days.
As part of the project, 2.9 km of the road will be refurbished using the bituminous macadam bituminous concrete method. Another 8.27 km will be strengthened by laying geotextiles and a 9 km stretch will be rebuilt with geogrid and geotextiles-encased stone column. The plan is to reconstruct at least 10 km of the road before the monsoon season.
Apart from reconstructing the road and bridges, seven flyovers at places prone to severe flooding are planned. The project, which is expected to prevent flooding of the road during the monsoon season, will be completed in 2023.
