Collapsed bridge comes up, two yrs after games

The rainbow-shaped suspended pedestrian bridge, which had collapsed during construction a few days before the Commonwealth Games in 2010, has been rebuilt. Atul Mathur reports.

The rainbow-shaped suspended pedestrian bridge, which had collapsed during construction a few days before the Commonwealth Games in 2010, has been rebuilt.

HT Image

Senior public works department officials said final touches were being given to the bridge and it would be opened for pedestrians in the next couple of days. PWD minister Rajkumar Chauhan said more such bridges would be constructed when the Barapullah elevated road is extended in two phases.

Constructed on the southern side of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi's biggest sporting facility, the bridge may not have much use now but it will come in handy during any sporting event at the stadium.

It was built to facilitate the movement of people from the parking lot to the stadium - the main venue for the opening and closing ceremonies and several sporting events of the Commonwealth Games.

The PWD had then taken up the construction of two pedestrian bridges near the stadium. Both bridges had a unique arch-shaped design. It was the first time such a bridge was attempted in India and its parts were supplied by a UK-based company.

One bridge collapsed on September 21, 2010 after a pin of one of its 26 suspenders gave away and the deck came crashing down, injuring 27 workers.

An inquiry committee later found a problem in the equipment supplied by the UK-based company. The PWD blacklisted the company and imported the equipment from another company.

The PWD has already built four such bridges - three at Ghazipur in east Delhi and one just 200 metres from the one that collapsed near the JLN Stadium.

"The two rainbow-shaped pedestrian bridges that have come up on Barapullah Road look really beautiful. In phase 2 of the Barapullah road extension up to Aurobindo Marg, we will build two pedestrian bridges with a similar design. In phase 3, when the road will be extended up to Mayur Vihar in east Delhi, we will use similar design and architecture wherever pedestrian bridges are required," PWD minister Rajkumar Chauhan said.