Rourkela, Dec. 27: The construction of the second bridge over river Brahmani here will begin by April, Union tribal affairs minister Jual Oram, who represents Sundargarh in Lok Sabha, said today.

Oram said: "Union minister of state for petroleum and natural gas Dharmendra Pradhan and I met Union surface transport minister Nitin Gadkari yesterday to discuss the issue. He promised us that the work would begin at the earliest as tendering and other processes are already under way."

"The tendering - both technical and financial - will be over in a month or two. The work contract will be awarded soon after to the lowest bidder and the work will begin from April," he said.

The bridge over Brahmani connects Rourkela with the rest of the country and is considered the lifeline of the city. The existing bridge over the river is more than 50 years old and has recently developed cracks. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced during his visit to Rourkela on April 1 that the second bridge over the Brahmani would shortly be constructed. However, delay in the starting of project had caused a lot of resentment. Even local BJP MLA Dilip Ray had expressed his resentment over the issue in public and boycotted party events in the recent past.

Oram also said that the design of the bridge would be changed a little.

"The old bridge has two lanes and the new bridge will have six lanes," he said.

Earlier, it was planned that the new bridge would have four lanes.

He also said that work on the bridge and on the stretch of NH-143 between Barkot and Biramitrapur, which passes through the city, would go on simultaneously.

The central government would also provide funds and technical support for maintenance of the old bridge.

The chief general manager of National Highways Authority of India, Dharmananda Sarangi, recently inspected the old bridge and the site for the new bridge.