A newly-built major bridge across the Souparnika on NH66 developed a huge vertical crack in one of its girder joints on Saturday in Kundapur taluk of Udupi district.
The Kundapur police restricted traffic on the new bridge and diverted vehicles on the old bridge at Arate-Hosadu, said Inspector Gopikrishna. Eyewitnesses said that broken steel rods were visible through the gap.
The nearly 1-km bridge was part of the four laning of NH66 between Kundapur and the Goa border (189 km).
IRB West coast Tollway Pvt Ltd., a subsidiary of IRB Infrastructure that undertook the project in 2014 on BOOT basis at a cost of Rs. 1,650 crore, is yet to complete the four lane work.
Residents along the highway stretch had been alleging sub-standard work.
NHAI Project Director, Mangaluru, Shishu Mohan did not answer telephone calls.
Udupi Additional Deputy Commissioner Sadashiva Prabhu told The Hindu that engineers from IRB and officials from the NHAI were inspecting the affected bridge.
Quoting NHAI officials, he said the crack was on the surface carriageway and an inspection conducted by the authority five months ago had found the bridge was in order.
