Gurupriya bridge to miss Feb deadline

Receding water level in the reservoir delays erection of remaining three steel girders
Gurupriya bridge to miss Feb deadline

MALKANGIRI:The much-awaited Gurupriya bridge project, considered to be the lifeline for people residing in cut-off region on the other side of Chitrakonda reservoir, is going to miss the February deadline set by the State Government.

Blaming the rapid receding of water level in the reservoir for delay in erection of remaining three steel girders, Bhubaneswar-based Executive Engineer (Design and Project) of Works Department Dr NC Pal, who visited the construction site at Janbai on Monday, said the State Government has fixed March as the new deadline for opening of the bridge for public by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He said the methodology adopted for erection of last three steel girders in the deep water zone could not be followed due to unexpected receding of water level in the reservoir. However, of the total 18 steel girders, 15 have already been erected, he added.

Pal said it was decided to adopt a technique for erection of the three remaining steel girders of 62 metres length each between P12A and P14 span in the deep water zone after filling with earth. But 10 to 12 metre depth of water level has receded which has led to delay in bridge work, he added.

Sources said out of 22 deck slabs, work on 20 has been completed and construction on one slab will be done within three days. However, work on another slab will be taken up after erection of the remaining steel girders. Similarly, erection work of all the 48 pre-stressed concrete girders, 136 piles and 23 piers on which the bridge will rest have been completed.

This apart, earth work upto 1100 metre length of the total 1200 metre on the road from Papermetla side and 150 metre on the approaching road from Chitrakonda side has also been completed. All finishing works like wearing coat, road kerb and railing will be completed in February only, Pal said and added that 94 per cent of the project work has already been finished.

The 910 metre long bridge and 1200 metre approaching road on either side with an estimated cost of `172 crore is being executed by the Kolkata-based Royal Infraconstru Limited which began the work in 2014 with the deployment of Border Security Forces at both ends of the bridge. The bridge will connect 151 villages with a population of about 30,000 spread over seven panchayats in the cut-off area to the mainland.

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