Rs 1.3-cr bailey bridge set up, Shimla-Mandi road restored

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, October 12

The Shimla-Mandi National Highway-205, which was blocked near Judicial Academy, Ghandal, about 20 km from here, following a massive landslide on September 13, was restored today after almost a month.

30 workers completed construction in 11 days

• As many as 30 workers, including 10 technicians from the mechanical division, worked 10 hours a day for 11 days to complete the work
• Vehicles with less than 20-tonne load, except trucks and trailers, will be allowed to ply on the road, said Deputy Commissioner Aditya Negi
• Heavy vehicles coming from Mandi will continue to be diverted via the Bangora-Kalihatti-Nalhatti-Haridevi-Ghanahatti route

The mechanical wing of the Public Works Department has laid a 180-m-long and 3.27-m-wide bailey bridge (triple double reinforcement technology) on the spot, at a cost of Rs 1.30 crore. “As many as 30 workers, including 10 technicians from the mechanical division, worked 10 hours a day for 11 days to complete the work and the bridge is ready,” said Executive Engineer Kishore Kumar Rawat.

Vehicles with less than 20-tonne load, except trucks and trailers, would be allowed to ply on the road, said Deputy Commissioner, Shimla, Aditya Negi.

Heavy vehicles coming from Mandi will continue to be diverted via the Bangora-Kalihatti-Nalhatti-Haridevi-Ghanahatti route while trucks and other large vehicles from Shimla will ply on the Ghanahatti-Shalaghat-Balog road.

The bailey bridge was laid after villagers requested the authorities not to cut the hillside to clear the road as houses and a gaushala on the top of the hills would be endangered.

Residents of Ghandal village had alleged that cracks were visible on the road for the past three months, but the PWD and the NHAI did not pay heed and the contractor covered it with mud. Due to the construction work being undertaken at the site, there was no outlet for rain water, which led to the landslide.