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Kodambakkam Bridge
Claiming to be one of the oldest standing bridges in the heart of Chennai, the Kodambakkam Bridge is a road over bridge in the state capital that was thronged open to general public and vehicular traffic in the year 1965.
Much before the contraction of Kodambakkam Bridge, the area was a railway crossing in that area which used to cause major traffic troubles for people. After several persistent approaches from the common man and their representatives owing to the bad traffic congestion at that place, the Lok Sabha passed the construction of a new over bridge in the year 1950. The Madras State Highway Commission which is the apex body to take care of such contractions began working on this project in the late months of 1963. The Bridge was completed in 1965 and was inaugurated for general public and traffic.
The total length of the bridge is less than 1 kms.
Over the years and owing to the bad state of affairs of the management, the Kodambakkam Bridge in Chennai suffered several damages. It was closely inspected by a team from Mumbai who submitted their report to the concerned authorities in Chennai. Post this, the authorities in Chennai ordered a thorough renovation of the weakening bridge to ensure public safety and to provide better services to them.
Geography
The Kodambakkam Bridge is located over the busy Kodambakkam Railway Crossing in the heart of Chennai. Lying in the northern part of the state of Tamil Nadu, Chennai is also the capital city of the south Indian state. Chennai is also decorated by a long coastline that lies on the eastern end of the Indian Peninsula with the Bay of Bengal. The city of Chenna was called George Town when the British took over it, Later the city was named as Madras and finally to Chennai.
Due to the presence of the sea side, Chennai usually has a hot, humid and temperate weather throughout the year. Usually in the long summers in Chennai, the temperature stays very high with the mercury even rising to above 40 degrees Celsius on several occasions. Monsoon brings some respite though.
The city of Chennai also has the typical sea breeze flowing across the city in the latter half of the day which is a good respite from the scorching sun as the temperatures drop down a little. The monsoon of Chennai is also famous as the rains that lash here are usually good.
Chennai has an excellent connectivity. The Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminal provides easy road connectivity to several south Indian cities as well as within the city. The Chennai Central is an important railway head as the central enables people to align for other train for almost the entire nation.
Description of the Bridge
History
The Kodambakkam Area of Chennai is a place where railway tracks for the southern lines of Indian railways and the railway lines for the Chennai Suburban railway lie. This busy railway route interested with an even busier road that connected two different parts of the metropolis of Chennai. The railway crossing was hence a venue for major traffic jams causing snarls for both Railways and Roadways. To eradicate such a mess and to ensure public safety in crossing the railway lines, the Lok Sabha proposed and passed the bridge in the year 1950. The bridge was completed in the year 1965 and was put to public use.
Basic Structure and Its Renovation
The Kodambakkam Bridge is created over a railway line and the underpass of the bridge has been filled with shops. A thorough renovation of the old structure of the bridge has been suggested by a consultancy that asks for the surface to be re laid. It also advocates the replacement of the bearings and the expansion joints of the bridge. In the current structure, the railings and the stairways are also in a very bad shape and require attention. Also due to excessive usage, the 600 meter long bridge has popped up iron rods at certain places.
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