The renowned cable-stayed, curved suspension bridge that will link Telangana and Andhra Pradesh while traversing the Nallamala forest range received approval from the federal government on Thursday. On Thursday night, Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister for Road Transport and National Highways, made the announcement on Thursday night.
“World-class infrastructure is bringing prosperity to New India. The central government has approved building the renowned cable-stayed continuous suspension bridge over the Krishna River in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana at a cost of $1,082.56 crore with a 30-month construction timeframe.
Gadkari, who referred to the bridge as the “Pragati Ka Highway,” claimed it would have several distinctive features, including the largest glass pedestrian walkway spanning a river, gopuram-like pylons, recognisable lighting, and a substantial navigational span.
He added that when it was finished, the bridge over the Krishna River would be the second of its kind in the entire globe and the first in India.
According to Gadkari, “the bridge has beautiful surroundings with the sprawling Srisailam reservoir surrounded by Nallamala forests and high mountains with huge tourist potential and presents an attractive view of Lalitha Someswara Swamy temple on the Telangana side and Sangameswaram temple on the Andhra Pradesh side.”
According to the union minister, once completed, the three-kilometer bridge will reduce the distance between Hyderabad and Tirupati by 80 kilometers. He also said that the bridge’s hybrid design would give it a structural advantage and make it better both in terms of how it works and how it looks.
The standing committee on finance gave last week’s approval to the union ministry of road transport and national highways for the construction of a two-story cable bridge over the Krishna River with a four-lane motorway.
It starts at Somasila in Kollapur in the Nagarkurnool district of Telangana and Atmakur in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh.
To get to pilgrimage sites like Mahanandi, Ahobilam, and Tirupati, people from Telangana are currently required to travel a great distance via Kurnool.
To get to these locations from Somasila, the only other option is to cross the river by boat.
Due to the flow of the Krishna River, river travel continues to be riskier.
On January 18, 2007, a boat capsize disaster along this route led to the deaths of close to 60 individuals.
Since that happened, people on both sides of the river have asked for a bridge to cut down on the distance.
According to a representative of the Telangana government, the centre finally approved the project under the Bharatmala Pariyojana project after years of Telangana government pressure. The official added that the bridge would help increase local tourism.