Over 1800 bridges inspected in Gujarat, 133 shut down as precautionary measure
113 bridges were closed only for heavy vehicles while 20 were closed for all vehicles
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“In general circumstances, the time limit to build such a bridge is 18 months. But in the case of Gambhira bridge, by doing a department-level review and to ensure that people get the facility early, the Chief Minister has issued instructions to complete the work by next monsoon — in 12 months. Accordingly, the work will start in the next three months,” the release said.
The Roads and Buildings (R&B) department officials, in a week, have inspected over 1800 bridges in Gujarat during their spot visits and closed 133 of them as a precautionary measure, an official release said.
The release also said that out of the 133 bridges, 20 were closed for all vehicles and 113 were closed only for heavy vehicles.
The official release quoted the information provided by senior minister and spokesperson of Gujarat government Rushikesh Patel.
Patel was briefing the media about the weekly cabinet meeting of the state chaired by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. The cabinet meeting reviewed some important actions taken by the R&B department.
The release said: “Out of these 133 bridges, 20 have been closed for all vehicles. Whereas, 113 bridges have been closed for heavy vehicles while the movement for light vehicles’ has been kept on. Non-destructive tests (NDT) have been done on those 133 bridges and the work of repair, strengthening or re-construction have been started on war footing as per requirement.”
These 133 bridges also include nine bridges on Narmada canal network; five of them have been closed for all vehicles and four for heavy vehicles. The five bridges closed for all vehicles are in Morbi and Surendranagar districts. Whereas, the four closed for heavy vehicles are in Ahmedabad and Patan districts.
There are around 2110 bridges passing through the canal network in the state, as per an official release.
Meanwhile, Patel also said that following the CM’s instructions, the tender of Rs 212 crore has been issued to construct a new additional bridge near Gambhira bridge in Vadodara. On July 9, the Gambhira bridge collapse resulted in the deaths of at least 20 people.
“In general circumstances, the time limit to build such a bridge is 18 months. But in the case of Gambhira bridge, by doing a department-level review and to ensure that people get the facility early, the Chief Minister has issued instructions to complete the work by next monsoon — in 12 months. Accordingly, the work will start in the next three months,” the release said.
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