Ghaziabad: UP Housing Board and the irrigation department have reached an in-principle consensus on a new bridge over Hindon river. Now the work on the bridge connecting Sidharth Vihar to Indirapuram Vasundhara may start soon. As per plan, the bridge, which will be 200m long and about 20m wide, will offer much-needed connectivity between two colonies administered by the board.An irrigation department official said, “The bridge corporation, which is the executing agency in consultation with UP Housing Board, will build the bridge 210m downstream from the barrage, but this will push the deadline by about a year.” Earlier, UP Bridge Corporation had commenced work near Sector 8 and Sector 9 of Sidharth Vihar township, which is only 80m downstream from the Hindon barrage, but the irrigation department had raised an objection, necessitating a new alignment.“While the barrage is necessary as it helps regulate water flow, we had reservations about construction of a bridge so close to the barrage. Also, we have come up with a new office building near the spot. Instead, we had suggested the bridge come up 210m from the barrage. UP Housing Board had to revert the new alignment plan to its board, which has approved it, paving the way for early commencement of work,” said the official.UP Housing Board had approved Rs 51 crore for the project. Officials declined to say whether the new alignment will result in cost escalation. At present, there is a one-lane bridge near the Hindon barrage, which was constructed primarily to monitor water flow and for other purposes, but is also used by locals.From the Meerut tri-section to DME, there are four bridges over Hindon river. Old Hindon Bridge is seven decades old and connects the Meerut tri-section with Mohan Nagar, but in 2017, the bridge was closed down as it developed cracks, and in 2022, a new bridge was constructed. During that period, another bridge, which runs parallel to Old Hindon Bridge, connected the two banks of Hindon river. In 2015, another bridge was constructed at the same spot, which connected the Meerut tri-section with Vasundhara.Over the last 15 years, Ghaziabad city underwent a sea change, especially in the trans-Hindon areas of Indirapuram, Vaishali and Vasundhara. There is another bridge right over DME/NH9, which caters to highway traffic. Siddharth Vihar and Pratap Vihar, which are some of the most populated areas of Ghaziabad, required crossing over to the other side of Hindon river, making them detour either towards GT Road or DME/NH9. This put undue strain on the existing bridges, while Indirapuram and Vasundhara are right on the other side of Hindon River. An additional bridge will resolve the issue once and for all.
