Manampitya Bridge
View of the bridgefrom inside the vehicle |
This is another interesting place you can visit from Polonnaruwa. This ancient
iron bridge runs over the Mahaveli River which runs about 50 feet below. But
during the rain reason the water of this river even flow over the bridge.
Bridge, rail road and the tar road |
This is a fairly long but a narrow bridge. There is no room for two vehicles
to pass, so any vehicle crossing the bridge have to wait till all the traffic
passes on the opposite direction. But the most significance feature of this
bridge is the railway track running right on the centre of the road. So if you
are unlucky enough, this is one of the very few places where your vehicle can
come face to face with a train. But fortunately this bridge is manned by the
Sri Lankan Army and two army check points on both sides control both rail and
motor vehicle traffic.
The new bridge |
There are only two such road-rail bridges in the country. The other one is
the
Valaichena
Bridge (Oddamavadi Bridge)
which you could come across on the same route to
Batticaloa. This bridge is almost identical to the Manampitya Bridge in design
and size.
In 2007 A new bridge was constructed in parallel for motor traffic.
Map
Created : 2003
Updated :
November 14, 2009
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