Traffic was prohibited on the busy and historic Ramasethu Bridge at Srikalahasthi, the famous Shivite centre in Chittoor district on Thursday after a small portion of the cement-concrete slab of the bridge was damaged.
A portion between the third and fourth pillars of the 400-metre-long bridge sank six inches. No one was injured and no vehicle was damaged. The damage was noticed at around 10 am, and all vehicles were diverted through Naidupeta bypass road and the approach road near Shiva temple.
The bridge was built by the British in 1923 when Srikalahasti was with the erstwhile Madras province. The then Panagal Maharaja inaugurated the bridge. In the 1970s, the bridge was slightly damaged due to floods during the Diviseema cyclone.
The roads and buildings department is erecting ground supports to prevent major damage to the bridge.
Sahadeva Reddy, deputy engineer (R&B), Srikala-hasti division, said that there was no need for panic. “The foundation and the iron girders are intact, just a cement concrete slab was damaged due to weakening iron rods. The bride will be ready for use in 10 days.”
The engineer further said that the damage was detected in November last year, but they couldn’t restrict the traffic on bridge due to some pressures locally. “In the recent past, we could not undertake repairs due to steady high water levels in the Swarnamukhi river.”
