In 1997, 28 school students died in an accident on the narrow Wazirabad bridge. Since then, the Delhi government had plans to build another parallel wide bridge nearby to alleviate traffic congestions. By the end of 1998, the Delhi government finalised the draft plan for this bridge. The bridge was inaugurated on 4 November 2018 by the Chief Minister of DelhiArvind Kejriwal with the aim to ease the burgeoning traffic congestion on the existing Wazirabad bridge.
History
By the end of 1998, the Delhi government finalized the draft plan for the construction of the bridge. However, the construction of the bridge was stuck due to multiple reasons - lack of manpower and financial difficulties, being the major reason. When the project started, its final cost was Rs. 1518.37 crore The Delhi government was tight handed and it was very difficult for it to shell out the extra rising budget. ₹1,518.37 crores of rupees have been sanctioned recently through PBDB. The work had started in 2010 on the bridge. A fresh deadline of end 2016 was set in 2013. Since then half a dozen times, deadlines have been missed and fresh deadlines set. Finally, the bridge was inaugurated in November 2018.
Details
The bridge is a Cantilever spar cable-stayed bridge, a type of Cable-stayed bridge and in which cables were in a combination of radial and semi-harp arrangement, in which cables are spaced apart on the pylon, like the harp design, but connect to one point or a number of closely spaced points on the deck. The dynamically shaped pylon consists of 2 inclined columns, which are rigidly connected to the driving lanes and bend mid-way. The upper portion of the pylon anchors the back-stay cables as well as the main-span cables and the self-weight of the pylon balances out the self-weight of the super structure through the eccentric location of its center of gravitywith respect to the pivot point of the pylon footing, reducing the load on back-stay cables which are fewer in numbers converged from the main-span cables. The bridge is 675 meters long and 35.2 meters wide. Built on the Yamuna river, this bridge connects east Delhi to Wazirabad. When the bridge will be opened for general public, the traffic pressure on the narrow and dilapidated old Wazirabad Bridge will ease out significantly. Just like the Eiffel Tower in France, Signature Bridge will also have the facility to transport tourists on top of the main pillar, which is 154 m high, from where distant views of North Delhi can be seen.
