Portion of Ayub Bridge breaks down in Kaghan

BALAKOT: Parts of the 60-year-old Ayub Bridge in the Kaghan valley, which helped connect Gilgit-Baltistan to the rest of the country via the Kaghan valley, broke on Tuesday after heavy machinery crossed over it.

Several stores and hotels located along the bridge were evacuated after cracks appeared in their walls.

Owing to the damage suffered by the bridge, the National Highway Authority (NHA) diverted traffic away from the bridge onto alternative routes and started repairs on the bridge.

A portion of the bridge broke after heavy machinery passed over it. After news of the broken bridge spread, local police closed it for traffic and evacuated the nearby shops and hotels where cracks had appeared.

NHA Hazara Division General Manager Habibur Rehman said that as soon as they learnt about the bridge breaking, they dispatched machinery to repair the bridge and officials to provide an alternate route to commuters on both sides of the bridge.

He added that they were working to repair the bridge and restore the flow of traffic over it as soon as possible.

The bridge had been built by former Pakistan president Field Marshal Ayub Khan in 1958. It helped connect Gilgit-Baltistan to the Kaghan valley and the rest of the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 27^th, 2017.