Spring poles put up on Cauvery bridge

Trichy: Following frequent fatal and non-fatal accidents on Cauvery bridge, Trichy city police have installed flexible spring poles to streamline bidirectional movements of vehicles. While a section of residents welcomed the flexible poles with reflective stickers, road safety activists, citing the bitter experience of the past few years, have sought a proper median as a permanent solution.Trichy city police said the four lanes of the bridge, a vital link between Srirangam-Thiruvanaikoil island and Trichy mainland, often recorded non-fatal accidents. Fatal accidents were also reported last year. Blaming them on speeding and wrong-side driving/riding, police said promoting lane discipline was the need of the hour as suggested at the recent road safety meeting. "The flexible spring poles will prevent two-wheeler riders from straying into the opposite lanes and overtaking other vehicles," a traffic police officer said. However, in the last few years, spring poles installed on the medians failed their objectives, including on Bharathidasan Road in the city. "If buses or trucks ram the spring pole, they will break or get crushed on the road. Proper median using an RCC structure will prevent overspeeding and enforce lane discipline," P Aiyarappan, a road safety activist, said. Trichy city police said that soon after the new Cauvery bridge with four lanes is commissioned, the bridges will handle only unidirectional movement of vehicles each. The road dividers will not be necessary then. State Highways department plans to commission the new bridge within the year.