The Punalur Suspension Bridge is the first motorable bridge in South India. The bridge has a length of 400 feet (120 m). The suspension bridge was built to prevent wild animals from crossing into the town from the forest area of old Kattupathanapuram. Built in 1877 by Albert Henry across the Kallada River, this huge bridge was suspended by two spans and was used for vehicular movement. Construction took more than six years. It is said that after completion of the bridge people hesitated to walk over the bridge.
Punalur Suspension Bridge is the oldest motorized bridge in Kerala, built by the Government of Travancore and now a historical attraction. To demonstrate the strength of the bridge, the engineer and his family passed under the bridge in a country boat while six elephants walked over the bridge. Now the bridge is of historical interest and a major tourist attraction.
It was built to prevent wild animals from entering the inhabited area, and a bridge was built that would shake if some people stepped on it, and this shaking scared the animals and they would not cross the bridge.
The bridge is connected to four wells. The iron bars of the bridge are connected to clips located in the wells. Each well is 100 feet deep and nobody knows the engineering behind the construction of this bridge till now. It still remains a mystery. This ancient hanging bridge of Kerala is built of linked bar chains which are bolted with huge nuts and steel rod hangers which joins the chains with the deck.Two pillars support the chains which in turn support the deck. The chains runs through the top part of the pillars and the deck is laid through the pillars and supported at both ends of the bridge.
A new concrete bridge was constructed near Punalur Suspension Bridge in 1972 due to severe traffic congestion on National Highway 208. This bridge has recently been repaired and upgraded by the Government of Kerala. The structure was strengthened, new wood panels of the same wood (Kambak) originally used in construction were fitted, steel armrests and stone pillars were painted, night lights were installed, and a new park and rest area was created. the bridge.