Rs. 1,100 cr sanctioned for six-lane Zuari bridge: Sudin.

The Central Government has sanctioned Rs. 1,100 crore for the proposed six-lane Zuari bridge, the foundation stone for which will be laid on August 15 this year, Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Ramakrishna (Sudin) Dhavalikar said on Monday.

'Union Ministry has sanctioned Rs. 1100 crore for the project, the estimated cost of which comes to around Rs. 1500 crore,' Dhavalikar said.

The minister said that the State has finalized a one-km-long alignment for the bridge that will have a five-km-long flyover. 'The proposed bridge would be constructed over the existing Railway Bridge,' he said.

The State government has also constituted a five-member expert panel comprising engineering agencies empanelled with the Central and State governments, to study the new Zuari Bridge design, prepared by project consultant S N Bhobe, after the bridge designed by the consultancy firm collapsed in Surat, Gujarat in June, 2014.

When asked why the government is staying with S N Bhobe consultancy, the minister said, 'We have signed an agreement with the firm and if we withdraw it we will have to pay them huge compensation.'

The consultancy firm has been booked by Surat police under culpable homicide not amounting to murder (section 304 IPC), besides other sections of the IPC blaming them for the collapse of the flyover under construction, at Athwalines that killed ten labourers.

Government last week submitted the detailed project report (DPR) and alignment for the new Zuari bridge to the office of Union Minister for Road, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari. Government is planning to make the new Zuari bridge, a signature bridge, with unique design features that would attract tourists.



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