PWD to soon inspect 20,000 bridges in Maharashtra

The Maharashtra Public Works Department (PWD) will soon undertake the inspection of 20,000 bridges across the state, to assess their condition in order to prevent incidents like bridge collapse and other mishaps, an official said on Thursday.

The exercise will help in maintaining the bridges in good condition in all districts of the state: Superintending Engineer Vidyadhar Sardeshmukh, PWD, Nagpur, told PTI.

A bridge of British-era on the Savitri river in Mahad city of Raigad district collapsed in August 2016. Following the collapse, two buses moving on the bridge got washed away, killing over 40 people. This is one of the incidents of the bridge- mishaps.

Sardeshmukh said that the Nagpur PWD office has already floated tenders for appointing a consultancy that would take up examination of bridges across the state.

"There are nearly 20,000 bridges which will be thoroughly examined, including the British-era arch bridges. The state will spend Rs. 20 crore on this exercise," he said.

"Bridges which are six meters long or more will be examined as a part of the exercise. Since bases of many bridges are submerged in water, the inspecting agency will take the help of divers to assess the foundation of such bridges," the official added, further informing that several other aspects, including the strength of a bridge, will also be studied.

"The agency will also monitor the repair works for three years," the official added.

The examining agency will submit its report and suggestions to the PWD within a period of six months, following which repairing work of bridges would be undertaken.