Traffic between Puducherry - Cuddalore to resume from Dec 7: PWD department

CHENNAI: The Public Works Department officials in Puducherry said that regular vehicle movement between Puducherry -Cuddalore would resume from Saturday onwards.

Following the heavy rainfall that battered coastal areas during cyclone Fengal last week, roads between Puducherry -Cuddalore were submerged after Veedur and Sathanur dams reached full capacity and excess water was released from them. Owing to this, traffic was diverted via the Villupuram -Nagapattinam bypass road.

After the stagnant water drained and roads returned to normalcy, traffic between Puducherry -Cuddalore resumed in its usual route around 3 pm on Thursday. However, vehicle movement was disrupted again after the Odaikuppam bridge at Edayarpalayam submerged under water around 10 pm.

Following this, the traffic police diverted all the vehicles from Puducherry -Cuddalore via alternative routes through Murungampakkam, Villianur, Karikalapakkam and Abhishekapakkam. Chief minister Rangasamy held an urgent meeting with the PWD department regarding the bridge after which efforts are on to fix it immediately at a cost of Rs 40 lakhs.

Several senior politicians including the Speaker and the Governor met with the PWD department and enquired about the works that are in progress regarding the bridge and directed the authorities to fix it at the earliest so vehicle movement can resume in the area. While the work on the bridge reached completions on Thursday night, the PWD officials said that they are waiting for the concrete to harden fully before vehicles can be allowed to ply on it.

As of now small vehicles are being tested on the bridge and once the concrete sets completely, regular traffic movement will resume between Puducherry -Cuddalore from Saturday, officials said.