Bridge across river getting ready

The structure, over Tungabhadra, will connect Raichur with Mantralaya

The construction of the bridge across River Tungabhadra connecting Raichur and Mantralaya is going on swiftly and is expected to be completed by April.

The bridge was washed away during the massive floods in October 2009, cutting off road connectivity between the two places. This had resulted in a financial loss of Rs two lakh per day for the Raichur wing of the North East Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NEKRTC).

The buses of the NEKRTC, which earlier made about 80 trips per day, could only make 20 trips on the temporary gravel road that was laid on the riverbed. Similarly, buses that plied from Hubli, Bagalkot, Bijapur and Maharashtra to Mantralaya, now ply only till Raichur.

The temporary road constructed by the government at a cost of Rs two crore has also been unable to withstand the force of water during rains. Every year, the road is washed away after a heavy downpour, cutting off road connectivity during the monsoon. The government would then repair it at the end of the monsoon.

After a long delay of 18 months, the construction of a permanent bridge was taken up at a cost of Rs 43 crore and was assigned to Hyderabad-based GVR Constructions.

During his visit to the district two months ago, Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda reviewed the construction and instructed the firm to complete the project by March.
Following this, the project has picked up pace.

“The firm has adopted hydraulics technology for the construction of the steel bridge. It will be ready soon and thrown open for use in April this year,” Public Works Department Executive Engineer Shankarappa said.