PWD to repair road of Old Yamuna Bridge

New Delhi: The Public Works Department is planning to take up road repair on Loha Pul (Old Yamuna Bridge) connecting east and north Delhi. The road surface will be covered with a fresh layer of bituminous material and road markings will be painted. PWD has given instructions to avoid disrupting traffic during the progress of the work.This double decker bridge was constructed during the British era and sees heavy traffic. The four-lane bridge has a railway line on the upper deck and roadway on the lower. Over the years, the road surface has eroded considerably. Due to this poor surface condition, the movement of vehicles is slow, adding to the advice on driving slowly because of the antiquity of the bridge.Motorists use the bridge to reach areas near Shahdara in east Delhi and localities near Kashmere Gate in north Delhi. There are some unauthorised colonies near the bridge.“The work will consist of constructing a single layer of specified compacted thickness using a bituminous blacktop consisting of crushed stone aggregate mixed with a bituminous base,” says the tender for the project issued by PWD. According to the official estimate, it will take two months to finish the work after the project is awarded to a private firm. PWD plans to spend Rs 98 lakh on the project.This historic bridge was first opened for traffic in 1866 and connected Calcutta and Delhi on a continuous rail network for the first time. The bridge is popularly referred to as Loha Pul because of its iron structure. A witness to many floods in its over a century-and-a-half-long existence, it has become a reference point for measuring the danger level for the river water level. It is usually closed for traffic when the water level rises during the monsoons. During last year’s floods, the bridge was closed for traffic to prevent any mishaps.A new Yamuna bridge in Delhi has been under construction since 2004.