Once the bridge is open, the vehicles proceeding from both Margao and Mapusa would be able to use it.

The main bridge superstructure consists of a 21 metre wide externally strutted segmental concrete box girder with dual carriageway of 2 x 8.5 metre with 3 metre wide median at the centre.

The box girder will be supported by stay cables which will be anchored in the pylon and stressed from box girder bottom. Another flyover originating from the Merces-Old Goa bypass road will join the Mandovi bridge for traffic from Ponda to go towards Margao.

According to GSIDC (Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited) vice-chairman Sidharth Kuncalienker, the bridge is fully designed by engineers from L&T, Indian Engineers, GSIDC, TPF and IIT-Chennai.

He was quoted as saying that “Except the bridge cables, everything else that has gone into the making of the bridge is Indian. In fact, many components have been made in Goa, The cables were imported as they are not available in India”.

Kuncalienker also said that the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) has saved almost 10 crore litre treated water while constructing the third Mandovi bridge by using curing compound, instead of water.

The construction of the third bridge was legally challenged by a group of NGOs who claimed that it was carried out without the requisite environment clearance. They also alleged some 247 mangrove trees were destroyed while constructing ramps to access the bridge.

The first Mandovi bridge was built in the 1971 and it collapsed in 1986. A second bridge was built in 1998. The first and second bridge were both multiple span beam bridges.