Hyderabad: The tallest statue of Constitution maker Dr BR Ambedkar, the Secretariat building displaying the glory, and Telangana Martyrs' Memorial Jyothi are some of the special attractions of Hyderabad. Now the new Steel Bridge will also join the list soon. In view of the increasing traffic on the city roads, the construction of this bridge in the heart of Telangana's capital will provide some relief to commuters and motorists.
Project envisaged by Greater Hyderabad Metropolitan Corporation
Strategic Roads Development Programme (SSRDP) has been formulated by Greater Hyderabad Metropolitan Corporation (GHMC) with an estimated cost of Rs 30,000 crore. As part of the project, 32 structures such as flyovers, underpasses, RUBs, and ROBs were completed in the city so far. The steel bridge is being built at a height of 26.54 metres from the road surface and it will be the 33rd project in Hyderabad. The experts, who carried out the survey work for the construction of the bridge, here arrived at the conclusion that steel bridge construction is easier than concrete one.
Officials said that the decision was taken as the width of the road in the Ashoknagar and Cross Road areas is 80 feet. While the foundation stone for the construction of the steel bridge was laid on July 10, 2020, the construction work started in January 2021, GHMC sources said that due to the Ukraine-Russia war, the supply of steel stopped and the work was delayed for almost a year.
The bridge design will prevent it from overheating during thesummer
In summer steel blocks heat up and emit high temperatures. It will threaten the bridge structure in the long run. Engineers said that adequate precautions have been taken in the design of the bridge so that the blocks do not get overheated and high temperatures are not emitted from them.
Speaking about the ongoing project, Ravinder Raju, engineer, Projects and Division, GHMC, said, ''During the survey work it was found the width of the surface road should be at least 100 feet for the construction of the concrete bridge above the road. As the existing road in the area is narrow, hence, the survey team opined that a steel bridge would be feasible. In addition, hundreds of buildings would have to be demolished if the land was acquired for the purpose."
The new steel bridge coming up in theLower Tankbund area of Hyderabad
The new steel bridge is being constructed from Indira Park Square in Hyderabad Lower Tankbund to the VST Intersection near RTC Bhavan. The commuters, office-goers and motorists are already facing traffic snarls on city roads during peak office hours. In this backdrop, the construction of the steel bridge will remove traffic congestion for those taking the route to Tank Bund, Secretariat, Vidyanagar and Osmania University. The vehicular traffic will move smoothly without stopping at the intersections of VST, RTC Crossroads, Ashoknagar and Indira Park on that stretch.
It is estimated that one lakh vehicles pass through this stretch between Indira Park and VST junctions every day. Motorists face a lot of problems crossing the four intersections. After the construction of the new steel bridge, vehicles can move smoothly. Officials said preparations are underway to open the bridge for traffic by the end of this month.
Features of the new steel bridge
It will be the first long steel bridge built at an estimated cost of Rs 450 crore in South India. The construction of the bridge will be completed without land acquisition by the GHMC. The length of the bridge is 2.62 km and has four-lane. It has 81 pillars and 426 steel beams are used. The total steel consumption in the construction of the bridge is 12,316 metric tonnes.
