Editor’s Note
This article details a significant upgrade to a bridge project in Madhya Pradesh. The design has been revised to meet highway standards, resulting in increased dimensions and cost. Final approvals from Bhopal are pending.
In Madhya Pradesh, the bridge to be built on the Chambal River will now be a high-level bridge conforming to highway standards. Accordingly, changes have been made to the design. The height will increase by up to 15 feet and the length will also increase, which will raise the cost. Discussions are ongoing regarding the increased cost after receiving a letter from the department. The design has been sent to Bhopal for approval. Work will begin once the budget and design are approved. The construction of this bridge on the Chambal River has been awaited since it was damaged in the 2019 floods. Previously, a submersible bridge had been approved.
The bridge to be built in Dhaturia, Mandsaur, had received approval, and a work order worth Rs 20.83 crore was issued to Kalyan Toll Infrastructure Limited on June 27, 2024. However, work has not yet started. The contracting company had begun work, including demolishing the old bridge and conducting soil tests. Meanwhile, the process to build a high-level bridge instead of a submersible one began, and the design was changed. Now the process is complete, and the General Arrangement Drawing (GAD) has also been approved. Therefore, the same company will work according to the old tender, but with the new design and increased cost.
After the bridge collapsed in 2019, the Madhya Pradesh Bridge Development Corporation issued tenders several times. No one came forward five times. On the sixth attempt, Kalyan Company Indore won the tender. The company had started work after conducting soil tests. The department has now stopped the work and modified the design to make it compliant with standards. Work will resume as soon as the new estimate is prepared. Since there is water in the river, a soil dam will be constructed, and the bridge’s pillars will be built using pile foundation technology.
After the bridge was built on the Chambal River in 2009, traffic increased between Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. It was a shorter route from Mandsaur to Chaumahala, Dun, Susner, Agar Khilchipur, Rajgarh, and Biaora. In 2019, the bridge was washed away due to excessive rainfall. Since then, movement between the two states has been disrupted, and people are troubled. This forces them to travel an additional 60-70 km. Time and money are being wasted. Many people are risking their lives to cross the river on boats and steamers over the waves of the Chambal.