Kasaragod: A girder or concrete beam of a bridge under construction, as part of the six-lane National Highway 66, slipped off the pier at Pullur in Kasaragod. The failure of the superstructure brought back memories of the collapse of a vehicle underpass in Periya, 5 km away on the same stretch, in October 2022. Both the structures are being built by Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Limited (MEIL).

According to officials, the longitudinal girder that fell on Wednesday, May 8, was placed on the pier four months ago. "We have called in independent design engineers from Bhopal and Hyderabad to find the cause for the slip," said Mallikarjuna H R of LN Malviya Infra Project Pvt Limited, the independent quality assurance company hired by MEIL and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

The six-lane carriageway on bridges sits on 10 longitudinal girders -- five on each side. The girders are placed on bearings atop the piers. 
In Pullur, the girder that fell was locked to the other four girders with cross-girders, said Mallikarjuna. "So one girder falling might have damaged all five. So the five girders and the slab on which they were fitted would have to be replaced," he said.

MEIL is responsible for the widening of NH 66 from Chengala to Nileshwar (37km) and from Nileshwar to Taliparamba (35).

The collapse of the bridge now and the vehicle underpass in 2022 happened between Chengala and Nileshwar. 

Mallikarjuna said of the 37 km between Chengala and Nileshwar, changes were proposed in 7km. So, as per the new agreement, MEIL has to complete the work on the 30-km stretch by September 2024 and the remaining 7km by December 2024. "MEIL is confident of meeting the deadline," he said.