Glass facade on bridge to take longer to finish

NEW DELHI: Although the Signature Bridge will be thrown open to the public November 4 after a delay of eight years, residents of Delhi will have to wait for a few more months to get a panoramic view of the city from atop the bowshaped pylon of the bridge.

According to officials, the construction work of a “glass facade” atop the pylon, which is twice the height of Qutub Minar, from where the visitors will be able to have a bird’s eye view of the city, is still in progress and expected to be completed by next February.

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the tourism portfolio, had, in August, asked officials of the Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC) if there was a possibility of developing this infrastructure project to serve as a dual purpose of tourist attraction and traffic corridor.

The DTTDC is responsible for the construction of the 675-metrelong bridge — the first asymmet- rical cable-stayed bridge in India.

According to the plan, visitors will be allowed to go to the top of the “iconic” bow-shaped pylon for a bird’s eye view of the city, just like at the Eiffel Tower or the London Eye.

“To ensure visitors get a panoramic view of the capital and the Yamuna River, we are setting up a glass façade at a height of 154metres on top of the pylon. Work is still in progress and it will take at least three to four months from now to be ready. We are hoping to complete it latest by February,” a DTTDC official said on condition of anonymity.

He maintained t hat t he 35.2-metre-wide bridge would be inaugurated by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Sisodia before Diwali, on November 4. He said while traffic would be allowed on the bridge after its inauguration, construction of the “glass façade” would continue.

Conceptualised in 2004, the Signature Bridge was scheduled to be completed before the 2010 Commonwealth Games. But it missed several deadlines since.