E-Paper
471 NH bridges found distressed; repairs on 312 due by Dec 2028: Centre
Centre had recently decided to centralise data gathering for bridge safety following a series of bridge failures in recent years
A total of 471 bridges on National Highways have been identified with structural distress, of which remedial work has been completed on 159 bridges, while repairs on the remaining 312 bridges are targeted for completion by December 2028, the Union government informed Parliament on Wednesday.
The figures were shared by Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari in a written reply to an unstarred question by Rajya Sabha member V Sivadasan on the safety audit of bridges on the National Highway network.
Gadkari said all bridges, overbridges, flyovers and viaducts on National Highways are periodically inspected by the concerned executing agencies for early identification of any distress.
According to the reply, inspections are carried out by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), state Public Works Departments (PWDs), the National Highways Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) and the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).
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These details come as Centre had recently decided to centralise data gathering for bridge safety following a series of bridge failures in recent years.
Last month, the road transport ministry decided to centralise the software platform for real-time bridge health monitoring by engaging IIT Madras and the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), while standardising procurement of bridge health monitoring systems across upcoming highway projects.
It also directed road-owning agencies to complete a nationwide digital inventory and condition survey of bridges by September 30 under the Indian Bridge Management System (IBMS), aimed at enabling continuous monitoring, scientific maintenance and timely intervention.
