Goa's new Zuari Bridge, India's 'widest', inaugurated
Alba Silveira | Panjim
Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the first phase of Goa's Zuari Bridge on 29 December 2022. He also launched the PWD Goa App for integrated operations management. During his speech, the Union Minister said that Zuari Bridge is bigger than Mumbai's Bandra-Worli Sea Link and it's his dream to have "a revolving restaurant and a viewing tower."
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| Goa's new Zuari Bridge is an important link between North and South Goa |
The new bridge's construction began in 2016 and is part of a Rs 2,530 crore project covering a distance of 13.2 km between two villages in Goa - Bambolim (North Goa) and Verna (South Goa) - and is considered to be an important link between North and South Goa.
The bridge, once completed, will be India's 'widest' bridge. It is the second longest cable-stayed bridge and is located on Zuari River at Cortalim village on the Margao-Panaji National Highway, at a distance of fifteen km from Panjim.
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| Union Minister Nitin Gadkari at the inauguration |
The bridge will be a major contributor to tourism in Goa as the beautification plans include two 125m high Tourist Observatory Towers, a Revolving Restaurant and an Art Gallery.
Before the inauguration, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant drove his car for nearly four km on the newly-constructed bridge for a first-hand experience. He was accompanied by Dilip Buildcon Ltd. Vice President Atul Joshi. The company is constructing the new structure that, according to them, will be completed by April 2023.
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| Goa CM Pramod Sawant drove his car on the new bridge |
CM Sawant said he was eager to drive on the new bridge as he wanted an experience from the driver's perspective and that he had not driven a vehicle since he became the CM of the state.
To ease the traffic woes of Goa, the first phase of the new bridge - the four-lane corridor on right hand side that approaches from Bambolim to Verna - was finally thrown open for vehicular traffic on 30 December 2022.
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