Inauguration of the new bridge at Cheruthoni across the Periyar downstream of the Idukki reservoir and the Munnar-Bodimettu stretch of the Kochi-Dhanushkodi National Highway will be held on October 12.
According to Idukki MP Dean Kuriakose, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari will inaugurate the road and bridge.
The road widening work on the 41-km Munnar-Bodimettu stretch began in 2017. The works were delayed following repeated landslips in the Gap Road stretch.
First toll booth
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) Assistant Executive Engineer Rex Felix said that the first toll booth on the Kochi-Dhanushkodi National Highway, which will also be the first in the district, will be opened at Devikulam soon. “The tender process for the toll booth will be completed soon. As per the decision of the NHAI, toll booths will be set up every 65 km of the highway,” said Mr. Felix.
The MP said that the NHAI had decided to construct a new bridge at Cheruthoni at a cost of ₹25 crore in 2020 after the 2018 floods. The construction was completed within three years.
The new bridge will connect the Puliyanmala-Thodupuzha State Highway with the Neriamangalam road. The old Cheruthoni Bridge, built in the 1960s, is one of the main surviving bridges after the August 2018 floods. A major portion of the Thodupuzha-Puliyanmala road in Cheruthoni town was washed away in the floods.
Mr. Felix said that the old bridge would not be removed and would be used for connecting the approach road. “The new bridge is capable of accommodating the water released from the Cheruthoni dam of the Idukki reservoir,” said Mr. Felix.
