288 Bridges built on State Highways in Uttarakhand will be Upgraded

• 13 Apr 2023

Why in News?

According to information received from the media on 10 April 2023, 288 single-lane bridges built on state highways in Uttarakhand will be upgraded to one and a half lanes. In this regard, orders have been issued by R.K. Sudhanshu, Principal Secretary of the State Public Works Department (PWD).

Key Points

• It is known that last year, on the instructions of the government, the Public Works Department conducted a safety audit of 2518 out of 3262 bridges across the state. In the safety audit conducted in five zones of the state, 36 bridges were found unsafe for traffic.
• Principal Secretary R.K. Sudhanshu said that given the strategic vision and increasing pressure of traffic in the state, the state government has decided to increase the load capacity of the bridges.
• By upgrading these 288 single-lane B loading category bridges of the state to A category, their load capacity will also be increased. A total budget provision of Rs 19.23 crore has been made on these. In the first phase, Rs 12.73 crore has been released for 182 bridges.
• Funds have been released for 12 bridges in Uttarkashi district, 19 bridges in Chamoli district, 10 bridges in Rudraprayag, 25 bridges in Dehradun, 3 bridges in Pauri, 4 bridges in Pithoragarh, 2 bridges in Bageshwar, 7 bridges in Almora, 3 bridges in Champawat, 11 bridges in Nainital and 8 bridges in Udham Singh Nagar.
• Total number of sanctioned bridges -

Uttarkashi	13
Chamoli	38
Rudraprayag	12
Dehradun	25
Pauri	06
Pithoragarh	09
Bageshwar	03
Almora	47
Champawat	10
Nainital	11
Udham Singh Nagar	08
Total	182