Trichy: More than 35 pre-stressed concrete girders meant to connect the pillars of a bridge under construction across the Kollidam river near the Grand Anaicut in Thanjavur have been found to have been damaged in the recent floods. An expert team headed by the faculty of the civil department of NIT–Trichy which conducted an inspection here on Wednesday rejected eight of these girders stating that they had developed cracks too.The new bridge is to come up across the Kollidam river near the Grand Anaicut connecting Thiruvanaikovil Road and Grand Anaicut Road benefiting residents of Trichy and Thanjavur districts. The work, which commenced in December 2016, was scheduled to be over in 36 months. Once completed, the facility would provide a shorter route from Trichy to places such as Kumbakonam without touching Thanjavur city.The kilometre-long bridge with 24 spans was being constructed by the project wing of the highways department at a cost of Rs 67 crore. As the work on constructing the pillars was already complete, the officials had been busy fixing the pre-stressed girders along them. Four concrete girders would be placed connecting two pillars for which nearly 100 girders were constructed on the Kollidam riverbed itself, officials said.According to officials, nearly 50 girders had already been placed on the pillars while the remaining ones were on the riverbed. However, a strong undercurrent following a heavy flow of water in Kollidam for more than a week from Mukkombu had moved the girders, leading to cracks in them, officials said. When contacted, professor C Natarajan of the civil department of NIT-Trichy who inspected the girders said that out of 100 pre-stressed or pre-fabricated girders, 49 had already been fixed on the pillars. Of the remaining ones, the team had identified damage in 35.“Out of 35 girders, eight were found to have developed major cracks. Our team has instructed the highways authorities as well as the contractors that they were unfit for use. The remaining girders should be tested using ultrasonic or non-destructive methods. If they too are found damaged, we will recommend that they not be used”, professor Natarajan told TOI.

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