August floods leave Bagalkot bridges in a shambles

The August floods have left a trail of destruction in the district. The ravaging Krishna and Malaprabha have damaged roads and bridges, some of which are beyond repair, hitting the road transport hard.

Rains have stopped, floodwaters have receded, but normalcy is still a far cry. The administration is faced with a Herculean task in repairing and restoring the bridges and roads.

The Chikkapadasalgi bridge across Krishna river on Dharwad-Vijayapura state highway is still off-limits for vehicular traffic. The protection wall and a portion of the road of the British-era bridge were washed away in the floods in August. According to the Public Works department officials, the department has sent a proposal to the government seeking Rs 1.6 crore for the repair and restoration of the bridge.

It takes at least one month to make the bridge ready for traffic. Now, the motorists are forced to take a detour of 30 km to reach Vijayapura via Savalgi.

The story of the bridge over Malaprabha on the busy Kagwad-Kaladagi state highway is bit different. The newly built bridge withstood the fury of Malaprabha, but the road leading to the bridge, on either side, was completely damaged. Owing to delay in repair works, the bridge has remained off-limit for vehicles. Again, the motorists are forced to take Bilagi road.

The Konnuru-Govinakoppa bridge across Malaprabha in Badami taluk cuts a sorry picture. NHAI (Nargund Div) Engineer P Rajendra told DH, "About 400 metres of the road near and on the bridge was swept away in the floods. Rs 1.25 crore is required for repair. The river takes a diversion towards Konnuru village near the newly built bridge. Huge volume of water gushes into the village, when the river is in spate, causing damage to life and property. There is a proposal to construct an additional bridge at a cost of Rs 5 crore," the NHAI engineer said.

Traffic on Ramdurg-Hungund state highway is affected due to the damage to a bridge and its connecting road near Pattadakal temple complex. The traffic on the stretch has been banned. The cost estimate for repair is pegged at Rs 1.5 crore. Vehicles take interior roads in the temple town to reach Aihole via Katapur.

About 60 km of state highway and 58 km of district roads have been damaged in the flood. According to preliminary estimates, damage to road infrastructure in the district is pegged at Rs 94.5 crore.