Mangi Bridge to get a facelift

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has started renovating the British-era Mangi Bridge and has said it will refurbish it within a month. The monument, near ISBT in the Kashmere Gate area, was ‘adopted’ by the ASI a year ago.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has started renovating the British-era Mangi Bridge and has said it will refurbish it within a month.

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The monument, near ISBT in the Kashmere Gate area, was ‘adopted’ by the ASI a year ago.

“The bridge had been damaged due to collisions with goods carriers and other heavy vehicles plying below it,” said a senior ASI official, requesting anonymity.

The ASI had decided to renovate the 200-year-old bridge that connects Salimgarh Fort on the east and the Red Fort on the west on July 14, 2009, a week after it had given way for the third time in three months.

“The work was held up because we were looking for a technology to strengthen the monument from inside instead of merely reinforcing it from outside. For this, we have roped in two private construction firms after a study on this subject was conducted at IIT-Delhi,” the official told Hindustan Times.

The ASI will use the ‘zero abrasion’ method to renovate the colonial structure that overlooks the busy Ring Road. “To renovate the monument, we will use what is referred to as the anchoring and stitching method. Diamond-cutters will be used to drill stainless steel wires inside crucial locations in the monument.

“In addition to two private firms, three experts who have been flown from England will be working at the site. They will provide structural engineering and drilling expertise to the project,” the official said.

“The work should be complete in about 30 days, well before the Commonwealth Games,” the official added.