Sambalpur, July 14: The dream of the residents of Sambalpur of a second bridge over the Mahanadi may shortly be a reality as the public works department officials visited the site yesterday.

“We have a proposal for a second bridge over Mahanadi. However, it is still in the preliminary stage,” said PWD executive enginer Sanjaya Sahu.

Secretary of the public works department yesterday inspected the Ring Road for the selection of site for the bridge along with senior department officials.

“The bridge has been proposed to provide connectivity to Chaunrpur, which is located on the other side of the river. The department is planning to construct the bridge at Sadak Ghat along the Ring Road.” Said Sahu.

“If the proposal materialises, the city’s limits could be extended to the other part of the river also,” he said.

City residents have also appreciated this move of the government.

There is already a bridge over Mahanadi in Sambalpur. The existing bridge is on the NH-6, which connects the Sambalpur with Bargarh.

“The city population has increased considerably in the last few years. With an increase in the number of industries, the inflow of people to the city has also increased. People from several parts of the country are now interested to settle here. But the city does not have enough land. However, once the proposal of the bridge is materialised, the city could be expanded to the other side of the river too. Moreover, land will also be available for several development projects,” said Balgopal Panigrahi, a local resident.