Portion of Sardar Bridge closed for repairs

SURAT:

A portion of Sardar Bridge

, which connects city’s Athwa area with Adajan on the other side of the Tapi river, was closed by the civic authorities for repairs on Thursday.

Surat Municipal Corporation

officials said the repairs would incur a cost of Rs9 crore. The repair work on both sides would be completed within 80 days, sources added.

The bridge, which was built in 1992, has a capacity of 25,000 passenger car units (PCU) on one side during peak hours. Expansion of the bridge and inauguration of

cable-stayed bridge

in the past six months have eased pressure on Sardar Bridge. The closure is likely to increase traffic on the remaining two newly constructed lanes of the bridge. The peak hour traffic density on the bridge is about 20,000 PCUs.

An officer of SMC’s bridge department said, “It is for the first time that such repairs are being undertaken on the bridge since it was built. The repair works will increase the bridge’s lifespan by 30 years.”