Thondamannar Bridge() is a road and pedestrian bridge on the

Jaffna Jaffna (, ; , ) is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a Jaffna Peninsula, peninsula of the same name. With a population o ...

Point Pedro Point Pedro, also known as Paruthithurai (; ) is a town, located in Jaffna District, Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. I ...

highway across the

Vadamarachchi Lagoon Vadamarachchi lagoon () is a lagoon in Jaffna District, northern Sri Lanka. The lagoon is sometimes referred to as Thondamannar lagoon. The lagoon separates the Vadamarachchi region from the Valikamam and Thenmarachchi regions. The lagoon is c ...

near the

Valvettithurai Valvettithurai (; ), sometimes shortened as VVT or Valvai, is a coastal town of Jaffna District on the northeast coast of the Jaffna Peninsula in Northern Province, Sri Lanka governed by an Urban Council of the same name. Valvettithurai was histo ...

town of the

Northern Province, Sri Lanka The Northern Province ( ''Vaṭa Mākāṇam''; ''Uturu Paḷāta'') is one of the nine Provinces of Sri Lanka, provinces of Sri Lanka. The province has an area of 8,884 km2, making it the 3rd largest province by area, and a population of 1,061,3 ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. It was built in 1953 and destroyed in 1987, and rebuilt afterwards in 2004. The Thondamannar Bridge was primarily used as a barrage since the beginning of its construction period to prevent sea water entering the

that serves as a primary water source for several villages in the neighborhood. The Barrage was destroyed in 1987 when it came under fire from the

Sri Lankan Army The Sri Lanka Army (; ) is the oldest and largest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. The army was officially established as the Ceylon Army in 1949, though the army traces its roots back in 1881 when Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteers was created; t ...

. The sluice gates before its destruction played a dual role not only preventing seawater entering into the villages but also allowing the floodwater flowing from the land-side into the sea during rainy season. The bridge along with the barrage was rebuilt by the Department of Irrigation in 2004 and now serves the

highway, a key link in the

Jaffna District Jaffna District ( ''Yāḻppāṇam Māvaṭṭam''; ''yāpanaya distrikkaya'') is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a ...

and the Northern Province.

References

Bridges completed in 1953 Bridges in Jaffna District {{Asia-bridge-struct-stub