Separate PWD wing for bridges

A separate wing for bridges has been created under the Public Works Department (PWD) to take care of the construction of new bridges, upkeep and maintenance of the 2,349 bridges in the State.

The government decision to create an exclusive wing by bifurcating the Roads and Bridges (R&B) wing of PWD is in the wake of the report on the inspection of the 2,349 bridges which found that 365 bridges needed urgent repairs, ,1281 repairs and 158 had to be reconstructed. The PWD is of the view that R&B wing was not able to concentrate on the upkeep and maintenance bridges and that the urgent repair works in 365 bridges needs to be expedited.

The inspection to verify the safety, and wear and tear of the bridges across the State was carried out after two piers of the Enathu bridge across the Kallada river on M.C. Road linking Kollam and Pathanamthitta districts were damaged in 2016 .

As per the decision, a post of Chief Engineer, Bridges, had been created by the government to exclusively take care of the bridges in the PWD road network. Official sources told The Hindu that the orders had been issued by Principal Secretary, Public Works, to this effect and that the Chief Engineer, Bridges, will be posted soon through a separate order.

Already, a Bridges Section is functioning under the Assistant Executive Engineer, PWD Roads, in all district along with two Bridges Subdivision. These personnel will be now under the CE, Bridges. With the creation of the CE, Bridges, post, the number of Chief Engineers will also go up in PWD. National Highway, Buildings, Administration and Design and Roads wings have separate Chief Engineers.

The inspection revealed hat 10 bridges built a century ago are in ‘excellent’ condition, while many of the bridges built recently were not safe and required urgent repairs. Wear and tear due to the vehicle population that has touched 1.11 crore is cited as the main reason haunting the bridges. Lack of periodic inspection, use of inferior quality construction materials, water flow and illegal sand-mining have also rendered the bridges unsafe. The creation of a separate wing will enable the PWD to look into these issues, sources said.