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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