Bridge gets signboard instead of repair works

KOCHI: At a time when the State government is spending crores of rupees to ‘protect heritage’ buildings, the old Mattanchery bridge (harbour bridge) which proved to be Kochi’s lifeline through its years of development is on the verge of collapse.The concrete walls on both sides of the bridge have crumbled and are posing a great threat to the bridge. The hand railings are rusted and the street lights over the bridge are defunct. For now, the bridge, at night, is a safe haven for miscreants.The Public Works Department (PWD), the custodian of the bridge, is yet to get started on the maintenance work of the bridge. However, the PWD has been kind enough to install a signboard at the entrance of the bridge cautioning the pedestrians and the passengers, that the bridge is in danger. The bridge was handed over to the PWD by the Cochin Port Trust in early 2000s.An engineering marvel of Kerala, the bridge was built by Sir Robert Bristow, who is also the brain behind the Cochin Port, to connect Willingdon Island to Mattanchery which was a trading hub then. The construction of the bridge was completed in 1938 and opened for traffic in 1940. In 2001, after commissioning a new bridge parallel to the old one, only two-wheelers and three-wheelers were allowed on the old bridge. However, no major maintenance work has been undertaken since the commissioning of the new bridge.Projects mooted to preserve the bridge as a heritage monument are yet to be realised. In 2003, when K V Thomas was the State Tourism Minister, there was a proposal to convert the bridge into a heritage monument and ban vehicular movement along the bridge. Giving fresh hopes for a new lease of life, the matter of bridge came up for the consideration of authorities in 2005, but nothing happened.The PWD authorities maintained that a project proposal at an estimated cost of `1 crore has been prepared for the maintenance of the bridge. “We hope that the project will be sanctioned and the amount will be earmarked in the next budget. It is true that the bridge needs some repair work.However, the bridge has only visible defects. There is no signs of  foundation defects,” said an assistant executive engineer of PWD.