Prayagraj’s Shastri, Phapahmau bridges set for a revamp
PRAYAGRAJ : Decks have been cleared for revamp of two important bridges of Sangam city constructed over Ganga and each handling pressure of around 20,000-30,000 vehicles every day.
The two bridges are Shastri Bridge that connects Prayagraj to Varanasi and Chandrashekhar Azad Setu (commonly known as Phaphamau Bridge) that links Prayagraj to Lucknow and Pratapgarh.
“The bridges are overdue for repair work like over-oiling of suspension joints, repairing the pavement on both sides of the bridge, fencing etc.
Soon, the work would commence and the traffic of light vehicles would be diverted to pontoon bridges,” said PWD executive engineer Prabhat Chaudhary.
The official said the department had sent a proposal to the state government that in view of the dilapidated condition of both the bridges and the trouble being faced by the commuters, repair work of these two bridges needs to be undertaken on top priority.
Following the proposal, now budget has been sanctioned and the agency too has been decided which would carry out the work on behalf of PWD.
At Shastri Bridge, a fresh layer of bituminous will be laid on the 2 km long road of this bumpy bridge.
For this, a budget of Rs 1.02 crore has been sanctioned by the government. The bridge is used by people going to Jaunpur, Mirzapur, Gopiganj, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Ballia, Ghazipur, Mau and Azamgarh among others.
Likewise, the repair work of Chandrashekhar Azad Setu or Phaphamau Bridge is likely to be completed by first fortnight of May.
Phaphamau Bridge connects Prayagraj to Lucknow, Pratapgarh and Sultanpur districts.
District magistrate Sanjay Kumar Khatri recently convened a meeting of officials of PWD, National Highway Authority of India and other departments.
In the meeting, while the traffic police were directed to divert the route of heavy vehicles, officials of electricity department were instructed to provide adequate lighting at the repair sites.
Once the repair starts, the movement of small vehicles would be diverted to pontoon bridge built on the Ganga. Likewise, entry of all big vehicles in Prayagraj would be through Shastri Bridge via Andawa.