SHIVAMOGGA: Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari is scheduled to inaugurate the bridge across Sharavathi backwaters between Ambargodlu and Kalasavalli on National Highway 369E on Monday.
The much-anticipated cable-stayed bridge over the Sharavathi backwaters is the longest in the state and second longest in the country, stretching 2.44 km. Built at Rs 472 crore, it will improve connectivity to several villages in Sagar and Hosanagara taluks, as well as to popular temples like Sigandur Chowdeshwari and Kollur Mookambike.
The bridge was built to address long-standing connectivity issues since the 1960s when the Sharavathi reservoir submerged large parts of the region. Since then, commuters have depended on a daytime-only barge service to cross backwaters, an arrangement long deemed insufficient to handle traffic on the now-upgraded MDR.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) sanctioned the project in March 2019, and construction began in December the same year. It was executed by Dilip Buildcon Ltd of Madhya Pradesh.
The bridge is the eighth extra-dosed cable-stayed cum-balanced cantilever bridge approved by MoRTH in the country.
Bridge construction result of local efforts
The bridge has a 16-metre-wide deck, which includes an 11-metre carriageway and 1.5-metre-wide footpaths on either side. The approach roads extend 1 km on the Sagar side and 3 km towards Sigandur.
The bridge has 604 box girder segments, 164 piles of 1.8-metre diameter, 96 cables on four pylons, and spherical bearings. The new bridge is expected to significantly reduce travel time and boost local tourism and economic activity.
MoRTH took up the bridge construction following efforts by local residents, activists, former chief minister BS Yediyurappa, MP BY Raghavendra and former minister Kagodu Thimmappa.