Goa: India's Second Longest Cable-Stayed Bridge To Be Inaugurated On 26 December

The first phase of Zuari Bridge in Goa will be inaugurated on 26 December, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said yesterday (22 December) after inspecting the newly-constructed structure along with state PWD Minister Nilesh Cabral.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari will be inaugurating the first phase of the bridge, located some 15 kilometres from here on the highway connecting north and south Goa districts, at 10 am that day, Sawant said.

The second phase would also be inaugurated soon, the chief minister added.

The new Zuari cable-stayed bridge will be 640m long, with a central span of 360m and end-spans of 140m on both sides, making it India's second-longest cable-stayed bridge.

The bridge will have dual carriageways 27m wide and a 10.7m centre median. For construction logistics, the bridge deck is a composite structure (steel structure and concrete) with a temporary steel walkway connecting both sides of embankments and pylon foundation locations.

The bridge deck is built on-site using cutting-edge robotic welding technology. It is transported into the river by barge and lifted and erected by lifting frames.

A tourist observatory is proposed on the bridge for the 110-metre-high tower. The PWD would soon issue a tender for its construction using a public-private partnership (PPP) model.

The bridge is part of a Rs 2,530 crore project covering a distance of 13.2 kilometres between Bambolim in north Goa and Verna villages in south Goa.

The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways bid on the project, and Bhopal-based Dilip Buildcon Limited won the contract.

French, Chinese, Central Public Works Department, and state Public Works Department specialists helped in the project.

Goa PWD Minister Nilesh Cabral stated that while the construction took eight years, the bridge would be "iconic" in Goa.