A 75-year-old bridge over river Krishna near Shakti Nagar, about 22 km from here, which was taken up for renovation and strengthening on June 24 this year would continue to remain closed for another fortnight as the work is not over yet.
As a result, the traffic movement for big vehicles on the 132-km stretch between Raichur in Karnataka and Jadcherla in Telangana on National Highway (NH) 167, a major interstate highway that connects Hyderabad with several major cities in North Karnataka including Raichur, would stand suspended and vehicles would have to continue to take Gadwal - Pebbair - Kothakota - Boothpur Chowrastha - Jadcherla route or Nandini - Jurala Reservoir - Atmakur - Mahbubnagar route. In either case they have to travel about 29 km extra. For those who travel between Raichur and Kalaburagi, going via Deodurg would be the better option.
As per the information provided by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the work is almost over.
“We have finished re-pointing and grouting of all the 35 pillars, jacketing 10 pillars and coating the entire bridge with 7.5 cm cement concrete. Now we need time for concrete curing. Upon our request, Raichur Deputy Commissioner S. Sasikanth Senthil has extended the closure till August 20,” K.P. Mahadevaiah, Assistant Executive Engineer, Hospete Division, NHAI, told The Hindu . The Rebuild Structures has bagged the Rs. 4.87-crore project, he added.
New bridge
NHAI, as part of its plans to strengthen and widen NH-167, has planned to abandon this old bridge and build a new one beside it at a cost of Rs. 145 crore, excluding the development of approach areas on either end of the bridge that requires acquisition of additional lands. The new four-lane bridge would be 14-metre wide and 760-metre long.
The legacy
The existing bridge was built in the memory of the travel undertaken by Nawab Javvadjaha Bahadur, the prince of Hyderabad, to Raichur in early 20th century. The bridge was named after the prince as Sirat-e-joodi. The construction began in 1933 and completed in 1943. It has 35 arches that are divided into five parts, each one having five arches. Each arch is 90-ft. wide. The bridge is 2488-ft. long, 20-ft. wide and 60-ft. high from the riverbed. The Nizam government had spent Rs. 13,28,500. Mohmad Hamed Mirja had worked as chief engineer. The bridge was one of the key links between South and North India at that time of its construction.
