A Tale of Three Bridges

We have many bridges in Ernakulam. So many that one newspaper referred to Cochin as Land Of Bridges! But three of these are creating history of sorts.

The first of these bridges has approach roads on both sides, but the portion above the railway line is absent. The second one has the part above the railway line but no approach road on either sides. And the third one on a canal is complete but not completed fully for use by the public.

The Pulleppady railway bridge is the first one. Once complete, it was expected to provide relief to commuters from the traffic jam on the North and South Over bridges and also provide a third outlet from the city to the outskirts. But the powers that be seem to have forgotten the bridge and work on the part above the railway line is almost at standstill.

The second is the Edappally railway bridge. This was expected to provide relief to the users of NH 17 as well as patients going to Amrita Hospital. The railway gate has a different problem also – the railway crossing gets jammed frequently when heavy vehicles ram the gate and traffic gets paralyzed for hours together. The part above the railway line is complete and can be seen by people crossing the railway line.

The third bridge is on the Shanmughom Road over the canal near the Office of the Police Commissioner. The bridge appears to be complete, but is not complete. The finishing touches to make it usable are yet to be made.

Can the citizens of Ernakulam hope for early completion of these projects that were conceived to make their life easier?

By the way can we call these structures bridges or is there a more apt word.

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