Construction of new Zuari bridge must begin now

PANAJI: Expressing apprehension on the condition of the Zuari bridge, some authoritative sources said the lifespan of the bridge is set to expire in three years. And if construction of a new bridge begins tomorrow it would take a minimum of five years to complete.

The sources told The Navhind Times that the condition of the bridge is deteriorating and would continue to deteriorate as time goes by. If the bridge is declared unsafe for travel then that could mean going back to ferries and long queues, which would affect normal life and tourism too.

A senior technical official stated that work on the new bridge should have begun long ago. But the file on the proposed new bridge has been lying with the PAC of the assembly.

The indecision of the government on process for land acquisition for the NH-17 expansion project, which entails construction of the new bridge, also makes the matter worse.

Nevertheless the detailed project reports are complete and contract has been awarded. A state-of-the-art cable bridge is supposed to come up on the Zuari river.

As of now, the Centre has refused to release any funds for bridge maintenance except for minor patchwork, probably fed up with the inordinate delay caused by the state government.

But PWD officials said the condition of the bridge is being monitored continuously and every three months checking and testing is done.

NHAI experts also have done checking of the bridge.

"All investigations have been done. We appointed a consultant when the first report came out. The bridge was tested by him. He was satisfied with condition of the bridge, but said that heavy vehicles cannot ply on it. So we stopped heavy vehicles from plying on it," a senior PWD official said seeking to alleviate fears on safety of the bridge.

He, however, admitted that a new bridge was a necessity and insisted that the government was going ahead with the proposal on a priority basis.

Government officials claimed that except for differences on the toll issue most of the problems have been sorted out. Stating that they would insist that the construction of the new bridge be completed within the timeframe of three years, the officials said, "We will try to expedite the matter. The Chief Minister and the PWD Minister are after it."

Rubbishing the government claim that it has been trying to push the central government on the construction of the new bridge within three years, some officials asked whether any bridge can be built within three years.

"God willing, the construction should take five years from the time it starts. We are already too late. We should have started a couple of years back. If the state government is facing problems with other areas or the Centre is not agreeing to its demands then the work should be taken up by the state itself," some engineers felt. They recalled the hardships caused by the collapse of Mandovi bridge and long ferry queues before the Zuari was built.

Courtesy:Navhind times