No quick fix for landslide-hit Soan Bridge

The idea of installing the temporary Bailey bridge on the affected part of the Soan Bridge has failed to materialise as the relevant authorities have decided to re-concrete the damaged structure which could take another five to six weeks before it is opened to all kinds of traffic.

The Soan Bridge collapsed a week ago during a landslide following heavy downpours and construction activities on the National Highway N-5 after which it was decided to bring in a temporary bridge from Gilgit to Rawalpindi and install it on the damaged section to restore the movement of light vehicular traffic.

The road from Rawat to the garrison city was completely blocked for traffic and the city traffic police devised an alternative plan to manage the traffic mess which was created in the aftermath of the collapse.

At present, the traffic is being diverted through private housing societies and on the road leading from Rawalpindi to Rawat, the traffic load is being managed due to which there is a constant gridlock situation on the highway.

Meanwhile, the firm working on the bridge under the supervision of the National Highway Authority (NHA) is busy working on the affected part of the bridge and in this regard, meetings have been held between the NHA and the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) officials in which the administration and the city traffic police officials also participated.

The authorities have issued instructions to restore the bridge as soon as possible and open it for traffic. Because of this, it was decided to install a temporary bridge with a steel structure on the affected section to temporarily divert the traffic until the affected section of the bridge was fully concreted.

Such a bridge is also called a Bailey and is used by the FWO on mountainous and difficult routes. Due to the efforts of the NHA and FWO director general, the infrastructure of the Bailey Bridge from Gilgit was shifted to the affected site of Soan Bridge before Eidul Azha but it could not be installed.

A senior NHA officer who is privy to the developments pertaining to the Soan Bridge told The Express Tribune that the construction experts believe that instead of a temporary bridge, the affected part of the Soan Bridge should be completely restored by erecting pillars. “Hence, the temporary Bailey bridge will no longer be installed there,” he said.

“Since the bridge will now be constructed by erecting pillars in the normal manner, the work may take at least five to six weeks. However, efforts will be made to complete it as soon as possible by working day and night and opening it for traffic,” he added.

It should be noted that since the collapse of Soan Bridge, the Rawat to Rawalpindi side of the road is being used for two-way traffic due to which there is a terrible traffic situation ahead of the High Court Chowk during rush hours. The entrance to heavy and freight traffic is closed from both sides.

Chief Traffic Officer Taimoor Khan also reviewed the location of the affected bridge and the traffic duty on Sunday. He said due to the impact of the bridge, two-way traffic is being conducted for light transport vehicles on the Rawalpindi side of the bridge, but the entry of heavy traffic has been completely closed.

The heavy traffic is being diverted into the garrison city via T-Chowk, Karal, Amar Chowk and Kachehri Chowk, he said and asked the citizens to be patient while driving in the city and “don't make a double line”.

The CTO further said that until the bridge was fully restored for traffic, city traffic police would continue to perform duties as usual and alternative traffic routes would also be established.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 4^th, 2023.