RAWALPINDI: Plan to install a temporary bailey bridge over a section of the under-construction Soan River Bridge that caved in six days ago has been shelved after it was decided to repair the damaged portion by building pillars and filling the crater. This process is likely to take at least another six weeks.

A senior official at the site revealed that the steel parts of the bailey bridge had been brought from Gilgit and were lying at the site but the idea was dropped and instead it was decided to repair the damaged portion. The bailey bridge structure will be returned, he added.

Repair work is likely to take at least six weeks and commuters are likely to face problems due to disruption of traffic on the artery linking Rawat with Kutchery Chowk. Heavy traffic has already been diverted to other roads and it is now being planned to divert light traffic to Bahria Town and DHA-I to reach Kutchery Chowk.

A section of Soan River Bridge, including a pillar and girders near the building of the Lahore High Court, collapsed last Monday. Fortunately, no vehicle was passing when a large crater emerged on the bridge.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2023