NEW DELHI: Troubled by speed restrictions of 30km/hr and stoppage of rail traffic during the floods, Northern Railway is now looking to expedite work on the New Yamuna Bridge , which is being built parallel to the old one (Loha Pul).Railway officials said that while the initial deadline for the new bridge , which passes through Salimgarh Fort, was December 2020, they were looking to complete the construction before that. At present, 50% of the construction is over. Officials, however, said the hurdles lay in the process of building the structure directly over the river.“The portion directly over the river is taking time as the rocks on the riverbed takes time to smoothen out. Only then can the foundation be laid,” said S C Jain, Divisional Railway Manager, Delhi division.The officials said the construction work would resume once the flood levels receded. Northern Railway had imposed a speed limit of 20km/hr on the Loha Pul on Tuesday, but rail operations were completely halted once the Yamuna water level crossed the 206.4 metre mark at 9pm.To complete the new bridge, a state-of-the-art workshop has also been set up near Pragati Maidan for fabrication of 26 steel girders, weighing 6,000 metric tonnes. Half the girders, officials said, have already been fabricated and simply needs to be installed on the site.“After the new bridge is inaugurated, trains will be shifted to it, while road traffic will continue to run on the Loha Pul. Speed restrictions will be relaxed once the new bridge begins operation,” said Jain.The construction of Old Yamuna Bridge (Loha Pul) near Red Fort began in 1863 and was completed in 1866 by the East Indian Railway Company of England. Initially constructed as a single-line bridge at a cost of Rs 13 crore, it connected Delhi with Howrah. It was converted into a double line in 1913.The Old Yamuna Bridge was designed duly factoring in high floods witnessed in the past. The danger level at that time was considered 672 feet above MSL (mean sea level) and accordingly, the top of pier level was kept at 677 feet and bottom of girder at 680.6 feet. There are total 11 piers and their foundation levels are located at different depths, depending on the level of rock surface found during the construction.