SHILLONG, March 25: Shillong roads are now likely for respite from the daily traffic snarls with Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong, on Thursday, inaugurating the much-awaited bailey bridge on Shillong Bypass.
Speaking on the occasion, Tynsong said the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has informed the government that they will install a steel structure in the bridge in due course of time, while adding that the NHAI has been instructed to monitor movement of vehicles on round the clock.
On the idea of repairing the Dwar-Ksuid bridge, the deputy chief minister informed that NHAI experts have examined the bridge and prepared a (Contd on P-4)
City roads likely…
(Contd from P-3) report which has been sent to NHAI headquarters and the Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways. “They are exploring if they can work out a retrofitting or go for a new bridge altogether,” he said.
However, the NHAI has approached the Meghalaya government with a request to identify an alternative alignment for the construction of a new bridge.
The government has, in turn, instructed Ri Bhoi Deputy Commissioner to identify a plot of land for the construction of the proposed bridge nearby the existing bridge.
While expressing optimism that the bailey bridge would last for 3-4 years, Tynsong exuded confidence that by that time, the new permanent bridge would come up in the area.
The construction of a bailey bridge was necessitated after the Dwar-Ksuid bridge along the Bypass was declared unsafe for heavy vehicles last year as it had developed cracks.