The corroded struts beneath the Thoppumpady Harbour Bridge. Apart from corrosion caused by proximity to saline water and air, many of the struts were damaged when power, water, and other pipelines were laid beneath the bridge.
| Photo Credit: SPEICIAL ARRANGEMENT

The urgent need to conserve a pair of heritage bridges that linked the mainland with West Kochi is once again in the spotlight, with innumerable galvanised iron (GI) struts beneath the Harbour Bridge that was built at Thoppumpady in 1937 found to be corroded, on Friday.

Light motor vehicles and their smaller counterparts continue to use the bridge that links Willingdon Island with West Kochi, while its sister structure — Venduruthy bridge that linked the mainland with the island remained out of bounds for vehicles after a parallel bridge was constructed over a decade ago.

With images and video footage of noticeable damage caused by corrosion and slack upkeep of the Harbour Bridge doing rounds, a team of officials of the Public Works department (PWD – bridges wing) and social activists inspected the structure.

A PWD official who was part of the team said the horizontal GI struts of the bridge that was handed over to the PWD by the Cochin Port were not replaced during recent times. Apart from corrosion caused by proximity to saline water and air, many of the struts were damaged when power, water, and other pipelines/cables were laid beneath the bridge. There is no immediate cause for concern, and vehicles can continue using the bridge since the damaged components are not load-bearing structures.

Administrative sanction is awaited for an ₹80-lakh project to maintain and resurface the bridge, it is learnt.

Niyas C.A., a social worker who pursues issues like damaged bridges and roads in West Kochi said the bridge that was built during the British era would have given in to slack upkeep, but for it being constructed in strict adherence with structural stability norms in vogue then. “Apart from proximity to saline water, leaks from Kerala Water Authority pipelines and seepage of rainwater would have contributed to the damage. The PWD must carry out preventive maintenance of the bridge in order to ensure safe transit of commuters and to retain its heritage value. Funds that were spent in building massive height gauge at the bridge’s entry and exit could have been used to maintain the structure,” he said.

Any delay will result in vehicles thronging the narrow Mattancherry BOT bridge that runs parallel to the structure. The PWD must build a new bridge parallel to the BOT bridge where traffic snarls abound, Mr. Niyas added.