The service road on the Himayatsagar outflow channel is set to be thrown open for traffic movement on Sunday. Six days after the bridge was closed even as swirling waters of the channel wrecked the bridge on both sides, workers from the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) have restored it.
“Vehicular movement is likely to be resumed from Sunday as we have reconstructed the guardrails. We have to rebuild the apron on the western side of the bridge which will take some time,” informed a HMDA official supervising the work. The ferocious flood waters twisted the guardrails out of shape and the supporting pillars were torn from the base and swept away. The all-weather Outer Ring Road beside it remained unaffected, though.
The partial reconstruction of the bridge, guardrails and apron is being carried out by the civic body for the second time in two years. In October 2020, flood waters had swept away a portion of the connecting road, apron wall and guardrails. This was repeated on July 27, when the gates of Himayatsagar were opened. Most of the damage occurred when eight gates of the Himaytsagar reservoir were opened to a height of four feet, releasing 10,700 cusecs (one cubic feet of water per second). It didn’t help matters that large quantities of building debris has been dumped on either side of the bridge, narrowing the mouth of the channel.
The bridge has 10 pipes of 1.2 metre diameter to let the water pass. This was not enough and the water roared over the bridge and a student was trapped with his two-wheeler on July 26 evening while trying to cross it.
The bridge is a key connecting link between the residential colonies in the Qalich Khan Dargah area and Bandlaguda.
