Centre okays 9.9km bridge in Allahabad

NEW DELHI: The Central government on Wednesday approved a proposal for a 9.9-km bridge to be built at a cost of Rs 1,948 crore across the Ganga in Allahabad. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, took the decision.

NEW DELHI: The Central government on Wednesday approved a proposal for a 9.9-km bridge to be built at a cost of Rs 1,948 crore across the Ganga in Allahabad.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, took the decision.

“The CCEA approved the project for construction of 9.9 km-long new six-lane bridge across the Ganga on NH 96 at Phaphamau in Allahabad with total capital cost of Rs 1,948.25 crore,” a statement from the ministry of road and highways said.

The project, expected to be completed by December 2021, will resolve the traffic congestion on the existing two-lane Phaphamau bridge, it said. The bridge will also ease the rush during large religious congregations at ‘Sangam’ and boost the pilgrimage tourism and local economy.

“The bridge will also be beneficial for the Lucknow / Faizabad bound traffic coming from Madhya Pradesh via NH 27 and NH 76 through Naini Bridge,” the statement said.

The statement added that the project will generate direct employment during construction for about 9.20 lakh mandays. The traffic on the old bridge is about 40,000 PCUs (passenger car units), which is much greater than its designed capacity of 15,000 PCUs, resulting in severe congestion.

The government said there were only 13 bridges on the Ganga between Allahabad and Farakka before May 2014, but later additional 20 bridges were planned. Five of them have been opened to traffic and seven are under construction.