Nagpur’s Ambhora village has been eagerly awaiting the opening of the longest cable-stayed bridge in the country, spanning 700 metres. However, the bridge has been awaiting final approval for use for the past five months, due to a delay in approval to Public Works Department (PWD) officials’ visit to Austria. The construction of the bridge was completed in December 2022, with cables imported from Austria. The bridge’s balancing exercise, which is the final step before the bridge is ready for use, and which has to be done remotely from Austria, cannot be conducted without the presence of PWD officials there. Sensors have been installed on the bridge for the exercise, but it cannot be opened for traffic until the exercise is completed under the supervision of PWD officials there in Austria. However, the PWD officials received an approval for their trip to Austria now, while the inauguration has been fixed for May 31.

 

With the final balancing exercise set to be conducted soon, the opening of the longest cable-stayed bridge in the country is expected to bring about a new dawn of development for the region. Villagers in Bhandara district had recently held protests against the delay in inaugurating the bridge. Project Manager Sunil Shinde told 'The Hitavada' that the bridge was completed in December 2002 and would be opened for traffic after the final bridge balancing. The bridge was constructed by T&T Infra Ltd, a Pune-based company, after the State PWD awarded a contract worth Rs 143 crore. The bridge has footpaths on both sides and two lanes of 7.5 metre wide each on which four four-wheelers can travel at a time.

 

Five pylons have been constructed in the Wainganga river to support the bridge, with the central pylon being 40 metre tall. A viewing gallery has been constructed at the top of the central pylon for tourists. The gallery has a carpet area of 325 square metre and is covered by super-thick glass. The bridge is set to open doors of development for Kuhi and Umred tehsils, and provide a significant boost to tourism at Ambhora’s Shree Chaitanyeshwar Mahadev Mandir. Located at a distance of 75 kilometres from Nagpur, Ambhora is a famous religious and tourist destination in Vidarbha. The village is situated at the confluence of five rivers - Wainganga, Kanhan, Aam, Kolari, and Murza.

Tourism at Ambhora declined after the construction of the Gosikhurd dam, which led to a rise in water levels and the submergence of the river banks. However, with the construction of the new bridge, tourists will be able to see the scenic backwaters across the river bed, which is more than 50 feet deep.

 

The bridge will also open connectivity to Bhandara district for the locals, and vehicular traffic will increase in the area, boosting tourism, according to locals. Most of the residents of the eastern parts of Kuhi tehsil and Nagpur district work as farm labourers, with no other job opportunities.