Panaji: The contractor of the new Zuari bridge has proposed closure of the road from Cortalim to Verna and diverting the traffic, but the plan has not yet been approved by the state government, PWD minister Ramkrishna Dhavalikar said on Monday.A technical team of PWD engineers will study the proposed traffic diversion plan, he said. If required, I will speak to Union ministry with a request for change in the proposal, the PWD minister said.“With Anmod road too it was proposed to close the entire stretch during the road widening, from Anmod to Khanapur. I went personally to Nagpur and I asked them to leave out the 8km stretch from Goa to Anmod and carry out rest of the work first. Similarly, with new Zuari bridge work too, our technical team will study the proposal plan. And if they feel it necessary, I will take the issue to the central government. I will see that they close the road only where necessary,” Dhavalikar said.He said for a project as major as the new eight-lane Zuari bridge people are bound to suffer some inconveniences and the road, though not closed immediately, will have to be shut for use at least for a certain period.The minister said the plan is to open a four-lane section of the bridge for use by December 2019 and said there will be no change in this deadline at any cost. “It may open before this deadline, but it won’t be delayed. The speed of work is going on at a certain pace with this target in mind,” Dhavalikar said. He said traffic diversion is also necessary for public safety.“We will have to close this road. Each section of the bridge is 28m wide. Tomorrow, even by mistake if a beam collapses and someone is hurt, I and my engineers will be criticised. Cap of each pile of the eight-lane Zuari bridge is made of 600 trucks of concrete so you can imagine the quantum of material being used. We are grateful to the MORTH that they allowed us to carry out work on such a large project by acquiring the minimum of land. This was allowed only in Goa, after Kerala,” Dhavalikar said.Otherwise, the land acquired for a project like this is much greater in area. Or else several houses would have had to be demolished, he said.“I know that residents of Cortalim and Agasaim while travelling to Panaji, and residents of Margao while traveling to Vasco, and those travelling from Vasco to Panaji will be inconvenienced. But they will have to bear the hardships for around another year,” the minister said.Dhavalikar said it is his personal request to the public to not protest against any plans to divert traffic due to work on the new Zuari bridge.He said people will be able to benefit from the different infrastructure works by 2019 as the new Zuari bridge and the other highway works that are going on will be ready or near completion. It will allow travel between Margao and Panaji within 20 minutes, the minister added.“With Mopa airport opening, the flow of tourists will increase greatly and it is important that the work is completed before the airport is ready,” Dhavalikar said.

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