Aluva’s historic Marthanda Varma Bridge, which was closed for repairs on October 28, has completed its strengthening work and is expected to reopen after the concrete curing period, a day ahead of the announced schedule if the remaining work proceeds as planned, Kerala Kaumudi – Kochi reported.
The bridge was earlier scheduled to reopen on November 6. The strengthening work has now been completed, with curing of the concrete the remaining requirement before traffic can resume. The 141-metre bridge spans the Periyar and is one of Aluva’s best-known landmarks. It is also located less than 100 metres from the last station of the Kochi Metro.
Opened on June 14, 1940, by the then junior Maharaja of Travancore, Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, the bridge was built as a new route between Malabar and Travancore. It is recognised as the first arch bridge in the erstwhile Cochin region. The structure is 5.5 metres wide and has three arches on each side.
The bridge was constructed over three years at a cost of Rs 8 lakh under the supervision of chief engineers G.B.S. Truscott and M.S. DuraIswamy. J.B. Gammon and Company carried out the construction. A stone plaque at the site still bears the emblem of the Travancore princely state.
The bridge’s design includes a shock-absorbing system placed beneath the deck at six locations. The springs, imported from Italy and enclosed in concrete boxes, are reported to remain functional. Its piers were built on stone slabs. A bridge based on the same design was later constructed at Mangalapuzha, around 1.5 kilometres away.
The bridge has generally required repairs only infrequently. In 2025, the railings on both pedestrian pathways were replaced with iron railings. The bridge was most recently painted light green, the official colour associated with Kochi Metro, further linking the historic structure to Aluva’s present-day transit landscape.
The bridge’s construction history also includes a fatal accident in which 11 people died. The report said that Thommi of Thanippilly House at Thottakkattukara, one of 12 people caught in a landslide during construction and a survivor of the incident, died in 2004.
Repair work has also begun on the Desham Bridge in the Chengamanad panchayat along the Aluva–Angamaly route. The seven-metre-wide bridge is being repaired across a three-metre section while traffic continues under single-lane regulation. The work was expected to begin in the morning but was delayed before Anwar Sadath, the local MLA, intervened. The work was completed by night, although one-way traffic will continue on the bridge until November 5 to allow the concrete to cure.
