Yellow lights installed at accident-prone Pamban bridge

Two signals each are present at both the entry points of the bridge and two more signals are present at the middle of the bridge. 

Only yellow lights will be blinking continuously in the signals to warn the drivers to drive slowly on the bridge. Also, solar panels are fitted on top of the signals to make sure that the signal is not interrupted throughout the day. 

Pamban road bridge or the Indira Gandhi road bridge was inaugurated in 1988 and is the only road connectivity to Pamban island from the main land. Hundreds of vehicles pass through the bridge on a daily basis to visit Ramanathaswamy Temple and Abdul Kalam memorial at Rameswaram and also to Dhanushkodi. But a new layer of mastic asphalt mixture was laid over the road bridge recently but because of its low skid resistance. Several accidents have been reported on the stretch and recently, to mock the government’s apathy towards the public, people cut a cake to celebrate the 100th accident on the stretch. 

There was also another argument that the frequent accidents were due to speeding vehicles on the bridge and the police department had responded by installing certain safety measures at the bridge. 

Initially two speed breakers were setup at both the entry points of the bridge to reduce the speed of the vehicles. 

Also, four barricades are kept with reflective stickers to indicate the presence of speed breakers and to slow down the vehicle even in the night time. Two barricades each are kept at both the entry points of the bridge.