British-era engineering heritage makes way for new bridge in Idukki's Neriamangalam

Adimali: The long wait for an alternative bridge across the Periyar at Neriamangalam, a major bottleneck on the Kochi-Dhanushkodi National Highway, is set to end, as the parallel steel arch bridge is ready for inauguration.

The new bridge connects Idukki and Ernakulam districts and runs alongside the 91-year-old Neriamangalam arch bridge, an engineering landmark regarded as Asia’s first Class A arch bridge. Work on the project began two years ago on the initiative of Idukki MP Dean Kuriakose.

Modelled on the old structure, the 214-metre-long bowstring steel arch bridge has five spans of 42 metres each. It is 13 metres wide, with an eight-metre carriageway and 1.5-metre-wide footpaths on either side.

91 years of engineering heritage
The old Neriamangalam bridge, built across the Periyar using British engineering techniques, stands out for its engineering excellence and architectural beauty. The 214 metre long bridge has five arches and is 4.90 metres wide. It was constructed using surkhi mortar, a mixture of lime and jaggery, along with cement, sand and metal.

The need for a new road to Munnar via Neriamangalam and Adimali arose after the existing route from Aluva to Munnar (Old Munnar Road), which passed through Kothamangalam, Kuttampuzha, Pooyamkutty, Mamalakandam, Kurathikkudi and Mankulam, was washed away in the floods of 1924. Works were subsequently initiated to open an alternative road to Munnar via Neriamangalam and Adimali. The Neriamangalam bridge, a key link on the new route, was opened to traffic in 1935.

A bridge steeped in history
Construction of the old bridge across the Periyar at Neriamangalam began in 1924 (1103 in the Malayalam calendar), during the reign of the then Travancore ruler Rani Sethu Lakshmi Bayi. Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma opened the bridge to traffic on March 2, 1935, in the Malayalam month of Meenam in the year 1106.