The State Highways has expedited the ongoing work of the new ₹24-crore high-level bridge across Then Pennar river between Agarampallipattu and Thondamanur villages near Thandrampattu town in Tiruvannamalai, bringing relief to hundreds of residents in the surrounding 20 farming villages. “The design of the new bridge has been completely revised based on the existing water course of the river. The new facility will be ready by December 2026 for public use,” S. Dinesh, Assistant Engineer (AE), State Highways (Tiruvannamalai), told The Hindu. Highways officials said that the collapsed bridge, that was opened for public use in September 2024, collapsed three months later. “Also, the total height of the new bridge has been increased to 10 metres from the riverbed as against four metres for the earlier bridge.