By Praveen Dwivedi

Bhopal, Nov 6 (IANS): At least 364 bridges built on different rivers across Madhya Pradesh are over 25 years old and need to be redeveloped by the state Public Work Department (PWD). Of these, at least 14 bridges need special attention.

Officials at the state Public Work Department (PWD) say that the safety audit has been conducted and the process of redevelopment of these bridges has begun.

"The aerial survey of all bridges has been conducted and it was found that 14 of them would require special attention. In fact, out of these 14, the redevelopment works of eight bridges have commenced, even some of them are already completed, while the work on six remaining bridges will be started soon," said a senior PWD official.

The official said that three of the six bridges where redevelopment work will start soon are located in Gwalior while two are in Bhopal.

A British-era bridge built on the Sukhtwa river on National Highway 46, which connects Bhopal to Nagpur (Maharashtra), had collapsed in April when a multi-axle lorry loaded with around 130 tonnes of weight (electric machines) was crossing over it. Before the lorry could cross, a portion of the bridge collapsed leaving the lorry hanging and the machines fell on the dry Sukhtawa river. The bridge was built around 1865, at a height of 25 feet above the river.

Two months back, the broken bridge was redeveloped by a team of Army engineers. The team has set up a 90-feet long bailey bridge.

Similarly, in July, a newly constructed bridge on the highway connecting Bhopal to Jabalpur collapsed due to heavy rainfall, however, no casualty was reported.