No heavy vehicular traffic on road-cum-rail bridge

Rajahmundry: The Road-cum-Rail Bridge which connects East and West Godavari districts has become extremely precarious for commuters. People are scared even to travel on the bridge as there is a six-inch hole in the middle of the bridge. The government has banned plying of heavy vehicles on the bridge.

Despite the ban, traffic police are not taking measures to stop the vehicles from plying on the bridge. The vehicles have a free run during night time.

The 4.2 km long Rail-cum-Road Bridge on Godavari here, the second largest such bridge in Asia, was constructed during 1970-74 by Breath white and Jessos. The bridge has 400 joints. While the length of the road bridge is 4.2 km, the length of the railway bridge is 4.2 km. However, it is facing several technical problems. Several screws attached to the joints have come off. Despite repairs being carried time and again, conditions have not improved. The previous government released Rs 2.50 crore for repairs of the bridge. But the bridge has become unmotorable once again. Even protective walls of the bridge have suffered damage. There are no street lights too on the bridge.

Though the structure is posing a threat to lives of people, the authorities concerned do not seem to have understood the gravity of the situation.