HYDERABAD: Commuting from

to

will become faster, more convenient and even scenic from February following the opening of the

cable-stayed bridge. The bridge will also reduce the commute from Mind Space to Jubilee Hills by around 2 kilometres.

“Currently, the average time taken to reach the ITC junction (near iLabs) from Jubilee Hills Road No. 45 is between 25 to 30 minutes. Once the bridge is operational, the commute time will come down to less than ten minutes,” said GHMC project wing’s in-charge superintendent engineer, Venkataramana.

The construction of the cable bridge has been undertaken by L&T Construction at a cost of around Rs 184 crore. A total of 4,800 metric tonnes of high-tensile strand, 3,000 cubic metres of concrete, 4,800 metric tonnes of steel and 300 metric tonnes of stay-cables have been utilised in construction. The 53 CC (cement-concrete) segments of the bridge are supported by the 26 stay-cables. “The cables have been procured from Germany, everything else is from India. Works pertaining to the bridge have been performed at a height of 20 metres above ground level,” said a GHMC official.

The total length of the bridge, including approaches on both ends, is a little over 764 metres of which the cable-stayed segment is around 426 metres long. The approach viaduct and solid ramps are around 338.53 metres long while the bridge is around 18 metres wide. It will also have 1.5 metre-wide footpaths on both the sides.

The bridge will also be illuminated. “The initial illumination of the bridge will cost around Rs 6 crore. Once the bridge is operational, there is a proposal for illuminating the complete structure which will cost an additional Rs 4 crore,” Venkataramana said.