Officials carry out soil testing on Mahanadi riverbank for the proposed second bridge. Telegraph picture

Sambalpur, Oct. 25: Farmers and villagers living on the other side of the Mahanadi travel 25km each day to reach the city. Once the second bridge on the river links Sadak Ghat to Mundo Ghat, the distance will drop to 1.5km.

Besides, once the proposed second bridge is build, city residents will also get an alternative route to Bargarh. “Villages such as Chaurpur, Sikirdi, Kansinghari, Baijamunda, Putapali, Khabsipali, Mundoghat, Tihinkipali, Bagbira, Basantpur and many more, which are situated on the other side of the river, will get a direct road to Sambalpur city,” said local resident Harihar Panda.

The roads and building department has begun soil testing for construction of the proposed bridge.

The budget for the proposed bridge has been estimated at Rs 112 crore.

“But, once the soil testing is done, we will prepare the bridge’s design and a new estimate will have to be drawn up,” said Sanjaya Sahu, executive engineer of the department’s Sambalpur division.

The existing bridge is on National Highway 6, which connects Sambalpur with Bargarh.

As of now, the villagers’ prime mode of transportation remains the boat, which ferries them to the city. Besides, they can use NH-6 to reach Sambalpur. Therefore, once the second bridge is built, the villagers will have an easy connectivity to Sambalpur.

Moreover, the proposed bridge will also pave way for the city’s expansion to the other side of the river.

“With an increase in the number of industries, the inflow of people has also increased in the city. People from several parts of the country are now interested to settle here, which, however, suffers from paucity of land. Therefore, once the bridge is built, land on the other side of the Mahanadi can easily be used for several development projects,” said local resident Sarat Banji.

The Gujarat Industrial and Technical Consultancy Organisation, which was entrusted to prepare the comprehensive development plan for greater Sambalpur, had also proposed a second bridge over the Mahanadi.