The State government has given its approval to take up repairs on the Kurikota Bridge across the Bennethora on the National Highway connecting Jewargi in Gulbarga district and Humnabad in Bidar district.
Minister for Animal Husbandry Revu Naik Belamagi told The Hindu here on Sunday that repairs on the bridge would be taken up in two phases. In the first phase, temporary repairs would allow light motor vehicles across; in the second phase, permanent repairs would be made to the bridge.
While the first phase was likely to take around three months, the second phase would take around eight months, Mr. Belamagi said.
Mr. Belamagi was present at a recent meeting chaired by Minister for Public Works C.M. Udasi in Bangalore, to finalise a proposal to repair the Kurikota bridge. He said the State government had decided to bypass the provisions of the Karnataka Transparency Act and entrust the work to an agency which had expertise in bridge repair, to avoid delays in finalising tender procedures.
He said both phases of the repair work would be supervised directly by the Task Force on Quality Assurance in Public Construction. The State government has decided to release Rs. 50 lakh immediately for the first phase. The task force said estimates would have to be prepared and finalised in a day or two.
Tests
Mr. Belamagi, who is also the district Minister in-charge, said representatives of the task force and two identified agencies, would be visiting the bridge on Wednesday to examine it.
When asked whether a new bridge would be constructed adjacent to the Kurikota bridge, or if work on an incomplete bridge adjacent to the old bridge would be taken up by the Karnataka State Highway Improvement Projects (KSHIP), the Minister said experts were considering various options such as widening the existing bridge to allow two-way traffic, finishing work on the incomplete bridge at a cost of Rs. 6.5 crore, or constructing a new bridge altogether.
No final decision had been taken in this regard, Mr. Belamagi said.
