Squally weather throws a spanner into Pamban bridge cantilever repair works

As the portion is just 10 feet above the waves, salt in the air has corroded the base of the cantilever portion weakening it. A total of eight outstation welders have over the last month attached nearly five tonnes of metal plates to the structure to strengthen it. 

It may be recalled that Southern Railway (SR) had offloaded 16 tonnes of steel at the Pamban railway station for this work two months ago. 

The recent rain witnessed by the state resulted in work not progressing after 2 pm as the sea becomes rough and waves deposit salt water onto the structure making welding difficult, sources added. 

Railway sources said the bridge “being located in the world’s second most corrosive environment after Florida makes its maintenance a challenge in addition to the location being highly cyclone prone. It is also in a high wind velocity zone.” The bridge has 143 piers with the centre span being a Scherzer lift span, each arm weighing 415 tonnes. 

The work is expected to completed in another 40 days if the weather remains good. About 10 ships — cargo carriers, coast guard vessels, fishing boats and oil tankers — pass under the bridge every month. 

The more than a century old bridge was the brainchild of the British administration who mooted the proposal as early as 1870 to increase trade with Sri Lanka, then Ceylon. It was opened on 24 February 1914, after work started in 1911. 

Though the metre gauge track was converted to BG in 2007, it was another two years before the cantilever portion was strengthened to handle goods trains. The railways replaced the 65.23-metre-long rolling type span which opened scissors-like with a 66-meter single truss span which now opens in two.