The bamboo bridge in Jorhat after it collapsed. Picture by UB Photos

Jorhat, May 2: Heavy pre-monsoon showers here for the past few days have disrupted communication between Jorhat and Sivasagar after a bamboo bridge on AT Road collapsed yesterday.

Following this, the district administration banned the movement of three and four-wheelers on the two wooden bridges over the Bhogdoi river on the road.

The Bhogdoi bridge on AT Road had been dismantled to make way for the construction of a three-lane steel-arched bridge and two wooden bridges — one downstream and the other upstream — had been constructed alongside and opened to light vehicles in 2012.

The bamboo bridge was also set up next to these wooden bridges which got stuck on the upstream wooden bridge after it was washed away.

Anjan Dey, sub-divisional officer, PWD roads, said it posed a risk to passengers in light vehicles.

“We closed the bridge and although it was May Day and there was a scarcity of labourers, we managed to get a crane and with a few labourers removed almost 70 per cent of the debris. In the evening, the deputy commissioner ordered the closure of the two bridges to three and four-wheelers. Now, only two-wheelers are being allowed,” he said.

Now all vehicles will have to use arterial roads within the town to reach National Highway 37.

Dey refuted allegations that the closure was because of weak construction of the wooden bridges.

He said the two bridges fell under the semi permanent timber (SPT) bridge category and were not built to take on heavy traffic.

“The bridges were built before I took charge here but it was not anticipated that there would be so much traffic over the bridge every day. A survey by us found that at a time five to six vehicles were plying over each of the bridges and no SPT bridge is constructed to take on so many vehicles at one time,” he said.

Dey said the PWD had written to the higher authorities seeking permanent closure of these two bridges but said the foundation of the bridges was not damaged in any way.

“We are repairing the wooden boards on the bridges. Earlier, because of the traffic flow, the wooden boards could not be repaired, even at night,” he said.

Regarding the steel-arched bridge, Dey said 25 per cent of the work had been completed. However, work was stopped because of the heavy rain, he added.