Soon after the LDF government assumed power in 2016, a fund of ₹22.02 crore was sanctioned under KIIFB for the new bridge - ₹16.72 crore earmarked for the bridge itself and the rest for the approach road. While the construction of the three river piers was wrapped up in record time, things hit a wall once the work moved ashore. Roiled by delayed land acquisition and an expired project deadline, the original contractor eventually walked away. The project was finally completed through a fresh tender, with the second contractor stepping in on March 14, 2024. From start to finish, the bridge took eight long years to become a reality. Technical sanction had been granted as early as August 2017, and construction had kicked off within a year of awarding the first contract. Under the original ₹22.02-crore estimate, the first contractor managed to complete only about 52% of the project. The remaining work was then re-tendered and awarded to the successor for ₹16.72 crore.

The key bottlenecks
The bridge had to clear three major roadblocks before crossing the finish line:

• Relocating the revered Kozhencherry Palliyodappura (the shelter housing the ceremonial snake boat)—a delicate task the government pulled off with the consensus of the local boat committee.
• Demolishing an existing panchayat-owned market building.
• Acquiring prime land belonging to the postal department.

Adding to the delay, land acquisition on the Maramon end faced legal pushback when a private property owner dragged the matter to court.

Bridge lighting & traffic tweaks
The only missing piece now is adequate illumination on the bridge. Since electrification was omitted from the original construction plan, local MLA Abin Varkey stepped in to allocate special funds for it.

Once opened to traffic, the bridge will also usher in minor route changes in the town. Chief among them is shifting the Thiruvalla-bound bus stop to the front of the post office. Anticipating passenger convenience, the MLA has also promised to construct a commuter waiting shed at the new stop.

When will the new Kozhencherry Bridge finally open?

It has been nearly a century since the first bridge was built across the Pamba River, connecting Kozhencherry and Maramon. While the vintage structure remains remarkably sturdy, it has long suffered from a major bottleneck: it is simply too narrow to allow two heavy vehicles to pass each other at the same time.

To resolve this issue, the then-Finance Minister K M Mani announced a ring road and a new bridge for Kozhencherry in the 2012 state budget. Although it received only a token allocation at the time - and the ring road project never saw the light of day - construction of the new bridge has finally reached the finish line. Today, the completed bridge stands ready, awaiting its official ribbon-cutting.

Bridge at a glance

• Total length: 200 m
• Total width:12 m (Carriageway: 7.5 m)
• Pedestrian walkways: 1.5 m on either side
• Approach roads: 90 m (Kozhencherry side) | 390 m (Maramon side)
• Arch spans: 4 spans of 32 m each
• Land spans: 3 spans of 23.6 m each