Cable stay bridge to be ready by November

Bhopal: Cable Stay Bridge - connecting Kamla Park to VIP road (towards Shankar Dayal Sharma intersection) is likely to be ready by November, but concrete plan to facilitate smooth flow of traffic on perhaps one of the busiest routes in the state capital is far off.
According to BMC, a proposal to do away with the intersection at Shankar Dayal Sharma square is being worked out.
However, proposal for setting up of a FoB for pedestrians to cross the square which was mentioned during inauguration of works for the bridge is missing from the BMC plan, now. Hundreds of residents and tourists walk along the VIP road every day.
BMC announced the cable stay bridge would be optically illuminated in seven different shades - one for each day of the week. Going by BMC preparedness, like the recently launched Habibganj RoB, new bridge over Upper Lake could well be yet another example of poor planning. Civic body has been criticised for poor design of Habibganj RoB which does not allow incoming traffic from one arm of flyover from Arera Colony, among other design flaws.
"Cable stay bridge will allow two way traffic and a pedestrian walkway will also be created," said city engineer OP Bhardwaj. Going by new design by the BMC, incoming traffic from VIP Road towards Kamla Park will again merge with traffic at the end of the flyover. It could potentially clog traffic on the flyover, attached to a 1,000 year old stop dam built by Raja Bhoj. Some archaeology experts have already warned of adverse effects on stability of the structure by building a cable stay bridge. On Saturday, BMC mayor Alok Sharma visited the construction site of the project which is now expected to cost Rs 10 crore more than originally planned. Delayed by over six months, the project cost is pegged at Rs 37 crore.