Work on bridge near Chand Cinema moves at snail’s pace
The construction of a bridge across the Buddha Nullah near Chand Cinema is going on at a snail’s pace. Although the work was scheduled to be completed in September 2024, the construction is nowhere near completion. Now the project’s completion is expected to coincide with the deadline for the Smart Cities Mission on March 31 this year.
Observing the slow pace of the work, the Municipal Corporation has written a letter to the Public Works Department (PWD), urging them to pick up the pace of construction of the bridge, which has been shut for five years.
The work for the construction of the bridge was entrusted to the Department of PWD (B&R) and is being funded by the Ludhiana Smart City Limited (LSCL).
The project is expected to cost Rs 8.25 crore, and the construction work started in December 2023. A nine-month timeline was given for the completion of the project. The funds for the construction work have already been released by the MC, and the project is being carried out under the Smart Cities Mission.
The bridge was declared unsafe in 2011, and in 2018 it was closed for heavy traffic, and then in 2021 it was completely shut for traffic, diverting traffic to an adjacent bridge. A few incidents of bricks falling on commuters passing under the bridge were also reported.
Officials from the PWD said funds for the said project were not released timely in the beginning, which led to a delay, and the work was started nearly three months after the allotment.
With the construction of this bridge, traffic coming from the Jalandhar by-pass would directly go towards Jagraon Bridge or Clock Tower. Due to the slow pace of work, commuters have to adopt a longer route currently.