Six years on, bridge in Kothagudem awaits completion

The second high level bridge across Godavari is expected to ease traffic flow on NH 30

Bhadrachalam (Kothagudem): Six years on and still the construction of a second bridge across River Godavari here has not been completed, much to the inconvenience of commuters.

The foundation stone for the construction of the second high level bridge parallel to the existing one was laid in April 2015 by the then Union Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari.

The bridge’s construction was supposed to be completed within two years after the works started. But the construction has been moving at a snail’s pace missing one deadline after another for its commissioning.

The existing high level bridge was opened to the public in 1965 by the then President S Radhakrishnan. It was constructed after a country boat ferrying devotees to Bhadrachalam capsized killing many and since then, it is the only passage to the temple town from Kothagudem side.

Since the existing bridge is unable to cope with the increased vehicular flow over the years, the second bridge was proposed to be built to ease traffic flow on National Highway 30, a vital road link that connects Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh.

The bridge is 1.20 km in length and 12 metres in width with 37 piers and its construction was taken by Rajdeep Buildcon Private Limited at an estimated cost of Rs 65 crore on Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) basis. But the agency failed to execute the project as per schedule and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials were forced to give extensions to the agency three times to complete the project.

NHAI Deputy Executive Engineer Sailaja, speaking to Telangana Today, admitted that the project works were moving at a slow pace but they were regularly monitoring the construction works. At present, around 80 per cent of the works have been completed with 37 piers and majority of girders installed to keep bridge slab in place on Bhadrachalam and Sarapaka side.

“Material and machinery are available. No exemptions were given to the contracting agency and a penalty of Rs 10 crore was imposed on the contracting agency for delaying the project implementation,” Sailaja said, adding that several technical issues, frequent floods in Godavari and outbreak of coronavirus pandemic last year had hindered the project’s progress. The uneven rocky base in the river bed delayed installation of piers.

Ch Shyam Sunder, a native of Bhadrachalam, wanted the NHAI officials to expedite the bridge works and bring it into use at the earliest. The existing bridge is in a crumbling state and officials failed to carry out repairs to maintain it in good condition, he complained.

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