Motorists commuting over the five-decade old high-level bridge across the Godavari at Bhadrachalam town may have to put up with the recurring traffic congestion for at least one more year with the deadline for completion of work on the proposed second high level bridge across the river getting extended for another year.
The foundation stone for the second bridge of 1.20 km length and 12 meters width was laid in April 2015.
The additional bridge was sanctioned at an estimated cost of Rs 98.45 crore to ease traffic congestion on the existing old bridge, which is a vital road link to the famous pilgrim centre of Bhadrachalam and gateway to the vast tribal heartland.
The existing bridge was constructed in 1965. It forms part of the National Highway 30 (Old NH-221) connecting Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh and Ibrahimpatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
The existing narrow bridge is unable to cope with the huge volume of vehicular traffic especially during the festivals and other special occasions, which draw thousands of devotees to the famous temple town.
With the monsoon set to turn vigorous, work on the new bridge is likely to be delayed further.
A crack reportedly surfaced in the wearing coat of the existing old bridge a few days ago. We are facing tough time in travelling on the existing narrow bridge particularly during the peak commuting hours due to traffic snarls and deteriorated wearing surface of the deck slab, rued Ramesh, a petty vendor who commutes daily from Sarapaka to Bhadrachalam.
The bridge is the sole road link to reach Bhadrachalam from Kothagudem side, he pointed out saying construction of a new bridge alone could relieve the motorists from the daily ordeal of traffic congestion.
Use of sophisticated machinery was necessitated in the initial phase of foundation works on the piers of the new bridge to prevent any damage to the existing old bridge, sources in the executing agency concerned said.
Some technical issues like consecutive flash floods in the Godavari had caused considerable delay in the execution of works on the new bridge, the sources maintained.
When contacted, Padmanabha Rao, Executive Engineer (R&B) of the National Highway Division, Khammam, told The Hindu that work on 25 piers of the total 38 piers of the new bridge has been completed.
Works on the major components of the new bridge, barring the remaining 13 piers in the river zone, are progressing briskly, he noted, saying hectic efforts were on to complete all the works on the new bridge by June, 2018, the extended deadline.
The existing old bridge is technically sound and its structural stability is in good condition. Plans are afoot to carry out maintenance works to improve the riding surface of the existing bridge, he said.
