Railway officials have completed the demolition of the Railway Over Bridge at Gogte Circle near the railway station here. Work on the new bridge will start soon, they said.
On Thursday, officials removed the last portions of the ROB that included the sleepers and the metal joints that held the railway lines to the concrete edges.
The century-old bridge was built during British era. It was certified unfit by railway engineers who recommended it should be replaced by 2014. But due to procedural delays, opposition by some local leaders and other reasons, the demolition was postponed to 2017.
A new, four-lane bridge will be built at a cost of Rs. 14 crore. The bridge sits on a vital contact point between south and north Belagavi. All these years, it ferried thousands of large and small vehicles everyday. It also regulated traffic between Karnataka and Goa as it is on the Khanapur road that connects the two States.
