Gandhi Setu unsafe for heavy vehicles
Madhuri Kumar
[ 5 Apr, 2007 0303hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]

PATNA: Mahatma Gandhi Setu — Asia's longest road bridge— is under
heavy stress and has become unsafe for heavy vehicles. The continuous
wear and tear of the 5-km-long bridge now threatens to snap the vital
road link between Patna and north Bihar.

Strangely enough — while cracks have already developed on some of its
pillars — the state government refuses to admit that plying of heavy
vehicles may cause further damage to the bridge.

Traffic on the western flank of the bridge was stopped long back after
several of its piers were damaged due to de-stressing. This often
leads to traffic snarls. Even before the damaged piers could be fully
repaired, the eastern flank developed similar problem. Worse still,
hinge bearings of the bridge also wore out, compounding the problem.
Road construction department (RCD) secretary R K Singh said about 33
hinge bearings of the bridge have worn out and are virtually
non-functional. "While orders to replace 13 of them have been placed,
replacement of more hinges may become necessary when the repair work
actually begins," he said.

According to Singh, external pre-stressing is the only solution to
prolong the life of the bridge. "While external pre-stressing has been
done on some of the spams, work is on for four others," he added.
However, pre-stressing on all the spams of the bridge costs a
substantial amount.

For, an amount of Rs 1.25 crore is needed to pre-stress one spam alone.

On his part, RCD minister Nand Kishore Yadav said the Bihar government
has decided to start repair of the bridge on its own. "Though we sent
a detailed proposal to the Centre showing an estimated expenditure of
Rs 52 crore, the Union government has so far sanctioned only Rs 5
crore," he said.

Singh admitted the state government cannot wait any longer to repair
this all-important bridge. "The work will be taken up on a priority
basis," he said.

Commissioned in 1982, this balance cantilever bridge built by Gammon
India Ltd with pre-stress technology developed problems in barely two
decades.

Several other bridges across the country, built with the same design
but with slight modifications, are also reported to have developed
cracks. In fact, the Mandovi river bridge in Goa built with the same
technology collapsed 16 years into its commission while two other
bridges on the Zuari and Borim rivers, also in Goa, are reported to
have developed problems and have been closed for heavy traffic.