road, the bridge, whose third foundation was laid by Chief Minister Ghulam [Images] Nabi Azad on April 28, 2006, has been constructed by BRO within a period of about 20 months.
BRO claims that it is the shortest period in which a bridge has been completed across the country.
The bridge would be an alternative to the existing steel-girder bridge, which is in constant need of repairs.
The old bridge was considerably damaged by unprecedented floods in 1992, BRO sources said, adding another bridge was constructed by the northern railway in April 1993.
However, over a period of time, certain defects were noticed in the vital bridge and as a precautionary measure, the bridge was closed for vehicular traffic for two hours daily for maintenance work, they said.
An expert committee was formed during August 1995, which suggested in March 1997 that the bridge be constructed without midstream piers.
The overall width of the bridge is 12 m and it has been constructed using segmental construction technique and is supported with bearings.
It has four shock transmission units imported from France [Images] to withstand earthquakes.
