Incomplete rail overbridge in Thoothukudi turns death-trap

The bridge that’s risky by day and perilous at night turns into a virtual death-trap as the incomplete work poses a major risk to commuters, who are facing a risky drive since most of them are unaware of the road, which is narrowed down to access the bridge.

Except for the bridge, which covers just a few portion of the motorway NH-38-(Madurai-Tuticorin Expressways Limited), the rest of the way running a distance of 130 km between these two destinations is considered to be four-lane for vehicular traffic.

Aggrieved over the poor condition of the bridge, JP Joe Villavarayar, president, Tuticorin Port and Equipment Owners Association, and a commuter, said there’s an average of two accidents occurring on the bridge every month. Adding to the woes, lighting on the bridge site is also not adequate. Despite taking these serious concerns to the attention of Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, several times over the last four years, authorities concerned are not taking any interest to end this problem, he said.

The Executive Director of a Thoothukudi-based Consumer Rights Education Centre, A. Sankar, took up this issue, which remains neglected, to the knowledge of the State Human Rights Commission for taking suo moto action. Despite raking up this issue at the District Road Safety Council meetings, it remains ignored. Therefore, the SHRC should inspect the bridge and initiate concrete action in the public interest.

The NHAI should not entertain the concessionaire to collect toll until the bridge work is completed, he said.

When contacted, Thoothukudi Superintendent of Police Arun Balagopalan said the bridge at Milavittan was identified as one of the accident blackspots. Among several accidents on the bridge and its proximity, six were fatal crashes that killed a total of 10 people since 2015. A total of six non-fatal accidents were recorded from December 2015 and December 2018 at the locality and it caused injuries to six victims, the SP said.

Based on the number of accidents on the bridge, additional measures were required to get drivers’ attention to avoid such risks, Edmond Thennavan, a commuter said.                 

According to B Sankar, Project Director, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Thoothukudi, the rail overbridge, which runs about 30-metre length, was not a part of the highway project earlier when it was completed in 2011. Since structural stability of the portion of bridge became weak during 2011-12, a joint inspection was made involving railway authorities before dismantling the portion. Hence, the work scope changed and a concessionaire was contracted to handle the project for reconstructing the portion. Since the delay is on the part of the concessionaire, who was awarded the project in 2013, hefty penalty of Rs 175 crore was imposed for delays and non-maintenance, with a condition to complete it by 2015.

A fresh agreement was made with another contractor in 2018. Four girders and beams were kept ready to erect it on site, but waiting for safety clearance. He also added that a quality control test report had already been sent and an expert team from NIT, Tiruchy, would soon make an inspection on the site.

Thoothukudi Collector Sandeep Nanduri attributed the delay to some procedural issues between the NHAI and the railway authorities. Further, the Collector told DT Next on Sunday that he took the issue with Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Southern Railway, Madurai, VR Lenin, recently for the early completion of the bridge construction work.

The DRM was requested clearance from the Commissioner of Railway Safety to proceed with the construction work on the bridge. Once the work commenced, it would take three months to complete, the Collector said.

The DRM of Madurai Division said there were some issues concerning quality standards, which should ensure safety of commuters. However, the authorities had been working on it to issue clearance from the Commissioner of Railway Safety soon.