PONDA: Concerned and fed up over the frequent Borim bridge repairs, locals and daily commuters on Tuesday panicked after noticing the truss below the bridge with many raising apprehensions that the bridge has been put on “life support”.
A local Shailesh Naik questioned the authorities as to how far they will go in continuing with the repairs on the already overburdened bridge? If any untoward incident happens, who will be responsible and how will the government manage the traffic on this route?”
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Expressing concerns over the bridge’s deteriorating condition; Naik said a double engine government should not play with the lives of people and plan a new bridge by taking locals into confidence.
The locals say that for the past several years, the Borim bridge has been overused and overburdened and has been repaired time and time again. At night heavy vehicles ply on the bridge, which could prove dangerous and hence the government needs to control the movement.
It may be recalled that the bridge was inaugurated on August 27, 1986 by the then Chief Minister Pratapsing Rane, in the presence of the then Urban Minister Luis Proto Barbosa and the then Shiroda MLA Subhash Shirodkar.
According to villagers, the Borim Bridge has completed its lifespan of 30 years. Over the past decade, the bridge has been overburdened with additional heavy traffic diverted from Zuari Bridge. Now, that new Zuari Bridge is used by heavy vehicles, but these vehicles from Belgaum and other parts still use the Borim Bridge.
The government conducts frequent bridge repairs, but in case it collapses, could lead to untoward incidents and further hardship to people as locals commuting from South to North besides inter-State traffic from Belgaum to Karwar will be hit badly, the villagers feared.
It may be recalled that a few years ago, the jolts at finger type expansion joints in the middle of the bridge created panic among the commuters, following which it was repaired.
Now, this bridge is 38 years old. But considering the continuous flow of heavy traffic diverted from the Zuari Bridge for the past decade, the locals say the bridge’s actual life span has gone up.
However, the NHAI officials said that commuters or villagers should not panic about Borim bridge’s condition. They said due to wear and tear, the work has been taken up. The truss has been erected to conduct repair work of Borim Bridge to replace the bearings.
Around eight rocker and roller bearings will be replaced. Due to plying of heavy vehicles on the bridge, the repair works has been undertaken. To replace the bearings, the truss has been installed. The proposal for carrying out the repair work at an estimated cost of Rs 18 crore has been sent to the higher authorities for approval.
