The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) on Monday approved the proposal for constructing a permanent bridge for the benefit of Bopkhel residents on Mula river at an estimated cost of Rs 42 crore.
The bridge, as per civic officials, will be completed in one-and-a-half year. Currently , the 21,000-odd residents of the village have to take a long detour of about 16km to reach Khadki as the CME had dismantled the temporary bridge on the river earlier this month.
The estimated cost of the bridge has more than doubled considering around sixtime increase in its length.At 192-meter in length, the earlier total cost of bridge along with the approach roads measuring 547 meter was at Rs 18 crore.
Rajan Patil, joint city engineer, PCMC said, “The width of the bridge will be 9 meter, including 7.5 meter width for vehicles’ movement and 1.5-meter wide footpath. The civic body has sent the revised plan of the bridge to the state irrigation department as per its suggestion that there must be no abutment of bridge in the blue floodline. We expect the approval of the irrigation department for this revised plan in a week. Thereafter, we will invite bids from the contractors. The actual construction of the bridge will start once the monsoon ends. The construction of the bridge will be completed in one-anda-half-year time after the work order is allotted.“
“The surface level of the bridge will be 0.6 meter above the high flood level as per the state irrigation department norms. The high flood level is the maximum flood level in past 50 years. So the bridge will not get submerged due to floods in the river,“ Patil said.
Local corporator Sanjay Kate said, “The new permanent bridge will provide permanent connectivity to Bopkhel with Khadki.“
Source : TOI
