New Delhi
The Public Works Department (PWD) of Delhi will install protective height barriers to safeguard the historic Mangey Bridge connecting Red Fort with Saleemgarh Fort on the Outer Ring Road (ORR), officials aware of the development said, citing repeated damage to arches due to heavy traffic movement underneath.
The arches of the bridge were last repaired by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in July and August last year. A senior PWD official said that bids for the installation of height barriers will be opened for work on both the left and right carriageways of the ORR, until the northern arch of the bridge, which is damaged most frequently.
“The work will be completed in the next two months and it is likely to cost around ₹21.7 lakh. These will be heavy-duty barriers with tubular trusses and have bases with reinforced with concrete foundation that can deal with heavy trucks. We will also put up rumble strips and retro-reflective markings to indicate the presence of the barrier,” the official said.
There is heavy traffic movement on the Mangey Bridge from the Kashmere Gate interstate bus terminal (ISBT) due to traffic flow from northeast Delhi converging into the Ring Road. The bridge, over a century old, is protected by the ASI. The bridge has three arches, each with two lanes underneath. A similar approach of using a height barrier was used at the ASI-protected Tripolia Gate.
The bridge has needed repairs every couple of years and a major restoration was carried out before the Commonwealth Games in 2010, with the help of a team from the United Kingdom. A PWD official said that the arch of the bridge ensures that trucks can safely pass under the highest point but the problem arises when overloaded trucks pass along the edge of the carriageway.
Previously, the ASI had requested the traffic police to change the route taken by heavy vehicles but were told that it was not possible as it was a highway. The issue of relaying the road and increasing the road level has also added to the woes over the last two decades.
HT previously reported that the restoration of bridge damaged bridge arches was in the final stage. The heritage site was damaged around two years ago when a truck with a container larger than the permissible height tried to use the route. The restoration started in early May 2024, after the ASI managed to procure necessary permissions from the traffic police, officials said.
An ASI official said: “We have already tried to install it three times and it got damaged every time. So, PWD was told to step in and take care of it.”
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