Ganderbal: As a major breather for the commuters travelling on the Srinagar-Leh Highway, a two-lane steel truss bridge under construction in the Wayil area of Ganderbal district over the nallah Sindh on the Srinagar-Leh Highway will be the first-of-its-kind arch truss girder bridge in Kashmir.
The construction of a permanent bridge over the nallah Sindh at Wayil would ease the traffic snarls due to which the commuters are facing inconvenience.
The present single-lane steel bridge over the nallah Sindh in the Ganderbal district connecting Srinagar with Leh is causing frequent traffic halts.
The bridge was constructed over two decades ago by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) after the old wooden bridge got damaged due to floods in 1992.
The frequent traffic snarls due to the one-way bridge over the nallah Sindh near Wayil are causing a lot of inconvenience to commuters travelling on the Srinagar-Leh highway.
Tourists use this bridge to visit several famous tourist and pilgrim destinations including Sonamarg, Naranag, and Amarnath shrine.
Besides, thousands of people travel on this route every day.
A few years back, the World Bank sanctioned the construction of a vital bridge at Wayil over the nallah Sindh.
The construction of the bridge was a long-pending demand of the locals as it was the only link connecting Srinagar with Leh.
Executive Engineer R&B Ganderbal Tatheer Ahmad told Greater Kashmir that the two-lane bridge had been approved at the cost of Rs 23.79 crore under the Jammu Tawi Flood Reconstruction Project (JTFRP).
He said that after completion, the bridge would be first-of-its-kind in Kashmir.
Ahmad said that the bridge had an arch-type steel girder with a good foundation design spanning 110 meters and a width of 10.50 meters while the length of the approach roads is 330 meters.
Keeping in view the importance of this prestigious project, the DC directed the executing agency to expedite the work on it so that it gets completed within the set timeline.
“There was a delay in the construction work as the material had to be made and transported from Ambala and in between the COVID-19 situation and some other things affected its timely arrival,” Ahmad said.
He said everything was in place now and the work was progressing fast and hopefully the bridge would be completed by December end 2022.