PONDA: After a five-year delay, the Public Works Department (PWD) has finally initiated the construction of the long-pending approach road for the new Khandepar bridge. In 2018, the four-lane bridge was inaugurated without the completion of the approach road on the Khandepar side, leading to traffic chaos and accidents at the Opa-Khandepar junction.

The delay was primarily attributed to legal issues concerning a house situated in the middle of the proposed approach road towards the Ponda side of the bridge. PWD officials stated that the matter was resolved in court, and the necessary land has now been acquired to commence the construction of the approach road.

The PWD has awarded the contractor an 18-month timeline to complete the comprehensive project, which includes the construction of the approach road for the Khandepar bridge, finishing pending works on the four-lane road at Angadi-Khandepar, creating an underpass near Safa Masjid at Shapur on the outskirts of Ponda town, and other associated works. The total cost for these projects is estimated at Rs 72.7 crore.

While the seven-kilometre stretch of the Goa-Karnataka National Highway from Par-Khandepar to Shapur-Ponda has already been widened into four lanes, the lack of an approach road on the Khandepar side has been a persistent issue since the bridge’s inauguration in 2018.