Tannirbavi beach will be closer to Mangaluru city next year

The Tannirbavi beach will come closer to the city as Mangaluru Smart City Ltd. (MSCL), which is constructing a bridge across the Phalguni (or Gurpur river) from Sulthan Bathery to Tannirbavi under Mangaluru Smart City Mission, is expected to complete the work by May 2026.

“About 60% of critical works of the bridge have been completed,” K. . Arun Prabha, General Manager (Technical), MSCL, told The Hindu stating that the bridge would be ready by May next.

The ₹64-crore project began this January with the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) and Forest Department clearance, he said.

The about 600-metre-long, including approaches, and 10.50-m-wide bridge will have 2.5-foot wide footpaths on both the sides. The carriage way will be nine metres wide.

As the place of construction falls under the 10 km-long stretch of the river declared as National Waterway-43 by the government, the bridge will have 10 metres of vertical clearance and 80 metres of horizontal clearance for navigation purpose, Mr. Prabha said.

“Except very heavy military tanks, all kinds of other vehicles, including trucks, can ply on the bridge,” he said.

The bridge, in addition to helping increasing footfalls of tourists to Tannirbavi beach, will help residents, including students of Bengre area, to commute between the city and the narrow peninsula (Bengre) easily, especially during medical emergencies.

“Once the bridge is ready, vehicle users need not take the round-about route via Kulur and Panambur to travel between the city and Tannirbavi,” Mr. Prabha said.

“The bridge cuts down about 30 to 40 minutes of journey between the city and Tannirbavi via Kulur and Panambur. Using the bridge, people from the city can reach Tannirbavi in about 15 minutes,” the General Manager (Technical) said.

Now people use ferry service available between Sulthan Bathery and Tannirbavi.

The MSCL had earlier planned to construct a hanging bridge in the same place. It was dropped later widening its scope to make the bridge more useful to people.