Moolarapattana bridge opened for traffic

The newly built bridge across River Phalguni was opened for traffic in Moolarapattana on Friday.

Constructed in 1980s, the bridge collapsed on June 25, 2018. The new bridge, built at a cost of Rs 13.90 crore, provides connectivity between Arala in Bantwal taluk and Muthoor in Mangaluru taluk. It provides connectivity to Ganjimutt, Kuppepadavu, Kateel, Irubailu, Edapadavu, Moolarapatna and B C Road. Students, from primary school to PUC, and villagers were dependent it for commuting. Without the bridge, villagers faced inconvenience and used a hanging bridge to cross the river.

During summer, the youth in the region used to construct a temporary bridge to cross the river. Without the bridge, buses were operating till Muthoor from Mangaluru and Moolarapattana from B C Road.

The vehicles travelling to Kuppepadavu, Polali, Ganjimutt, Sornadu, Siddakatte and Loretto were using a circuitous route via Kuriyala-Sanoorupadavu-Moodbidri. The new bridge is 174.8 metres long and 10 metres wide.

MLAs Dr Y Bharath Shetty and U Rajesh Naik inspected the bridge.

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