New contractor for Bambolim foot overbridge work

Panaji: After the contractor Mookambika Constructions failed to begin work on Goa’s first foot over bridge (FoB) with a lift and escalator at Fulancho Khuris shrine at Bambolim, the PWDt terminated the contract. The work has now been awarded to Bavikara Constructions.

Officials said the work of soil testing has also been initiated near the . Mookambika Constructions did not start work on the project for eight months or more after being awarded the project.

“A fresh tender was floated, and Bavikara Constructions made the lowest bid. The Supreme Court committee on road safety asked that the project needed for be initiated at the earliest when this committee was in Goa to monitor road safety measures,” said an official.

It was the third time the project was tendered looking for a contractor. The first time, the PWD received no response, while the second time the awardee did not take the initiative to begin the work.

The project is expected to cost around Rs 6 crore. The total project cost will also include a maintenance contract for five years for the toilets, the lift, and the escalator.

The project design has been envisaged as a modern-looking structure, along the lines of similar FOBs existing in Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia. The foot overbridge will be around 2.5m wide and 6m high. It has been designed with an inbuilt lift and escalator after similar FOBs and subways meant for pedestrians in Goa failed, like the overbridge at Sharada Mandir School, Miramar, and the subway near Padre Conceicao College of Engineering in Verna.

The overbridge was necessitated as, with the highway expansion along this stretch, the speed of vehicles at this busy section increased tremendously, making it dangerous for devotees visiting the shrine.