Work on new, high-level bridge across Gedilam River in T.N.’s Cuddalore district begins

Construction of a two-lane high-level bridge across Gedilam River in Cuddalore has begun to alleviate traffic congestion.

Work on the construction of an additional high-level bridge across the Gedilam River in Cuddalore on the Villupuram-Nagapattinam national highway (NH 32) has commenced.

Officials of the T.N. Highways Department said that the new bridge, which will be a two-lane route, will connect the road at New Cinema junction to Seematti junction in Cuddalore. The need for an additional high-level bridge has been a long pending demand of the residents of Cuddalore.

The new bridge, to be built at a cost of ₹22.15 crore, will come up adjacent to the existing bridge across the Gedilam River that has become a traffic bottleneck in the town. The work was sanctioned under the annual plan 2022-23 by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The new bridge will be 273 metres long, and will have 12 piers. The carriageway will be 9.5 metres wide. The bridge would also have footpath on one side, sources in the Highway Department said.

The initial work of clearing vegetation on the acquired land began on Monday, February 12, 2024. The bridge will be completed in two years, and until then traffic will continue through the existing bridge.

The bridge has been designed taking into account the traffic volume at the New Cinema junction and Seematti junctions.