Century-old Rego Bridge develops cracks, fissures

Neeraj Bagga

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Tribune News Service

Amritsar, September 9

The century-old Mahavir railway overbridge (RoB), popularly known as Rego Bridge, has developed cracks and fissures.

The upper surface of the bridge has come off at several places. Iron railings and barricading to prevent commuters from walking on its ramshackle sides have also vanished.

Vijay Khanna, a resident of Model Town, said traffic had increased on the RoB. He said though the authorities carried out repairs on a temporary basis last year, it did not last long.

Khanna said last month, downpour caused damaged to it at many places.

The bridge connects the GT Road with the Gobindgarh fort and its beyond the walled city. It provides an alternative route to commuters from the ever-busy Bhandari RoB.

Subodh, a resident of Railway Colony, said “I daily cross the bridge to reach my office at the railway station. Its condition is deteriorating every day.”

He said its deplorable condition did not catch the attention of the authorities.

Teeming potholed surface offers bumpy a ride to commuters while cracks and fissures are a cause of worry. On the other hand, buses ferrying passengers are also plying on it.

It is considered as one of the oldest bridges in the city built by the Britishers after annexation of Punjab. The bridge was reconditioned in 1982.

A visit to the RoB lay bared that several potholes were filled with bricks as a stopgap arrangement. The side walk of the bridge, meant for pedestrians, is also in a bad condition. The walkways on both sides of the bridge have been lying unused for years.

The proposed re-construction of the RoB is yet to see light of the day. Instead of repairing these, the agency concerned had made it out of bound for any use by erecting fences.

The RoB provides a short way to the commuters coming from Nawakot and Islamabad areas and scores of villages behind these localities to enter the city.

Railway officials said the repairs of the RoB would be carried out after assessing the damage. They added that the repairs of the bridge was carried out in September 2017.