13/10/2026
⭐️Cable Bridges on Amaravati ORR
📌Eenadu, Amaravati: Cable bridges are going to be constructed across the Krishna River on the Amaravati Outer Ring Road (ORR). Although it was initially planned to build only regular bridges, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) recently decided to construct cable bridges on the upstream side of the Krishna River.
📌The access-controlled ORR, being constructed with six lanes over a length of 189.93 km, will feature two separate bridges with two-lane roadways each across the Krishna River. Upstream, near the Amaravati temple, two bridges spanning 2.90 km between Munnalluru and Mutyalapalem have been proposed as part of Package 4. Downstream, between Krishna and Guntur districts, two bridges spanning 5.30 km between Vallurupalem and Vallabhapuram will be constructed as part of Package 3, where the upstream ones will be cable-stayed bridges.
⭐️With Cables in the Middle...
📌Near the Amaravati temple, out of the 2.90 km stretch of the two bridges, a 730-meter section will feature cable-stayed bridges. Typically, bridge construction involves setting a span every 60 meters on average. However, here there will be a large span of 350 meters in the middle, flanked by two other spans of 190 meters each on either side. Thus, a total 730-meter section will be supported by cables. The remaining 2.13 km stretch will be a regular bridge.
⭐️Following the CM's Request...
📌Chief Minister Chandrababu has been keen on having iconic bridges in the ORR project from the beginning. Iconic bridges were proposed when the ORR project received preliminary approval back in 2018. However, when the Alignment Approval Committee gave clearance for this project in December 2024, it cleared regular bridges instead of iconic ones.
📌When the detailed project report (DPR) for the ORR was submitted with a cost of Rs. 38,450 crores, cuts were made citing high project costs. The proposal for building service roads on the outer side of the ORR was dropped. The 6-lane connecting road proposal over a 17.5 km stretch from near Tenali to Kaja on the Chennai-Kolkata highway was shelved. While tunnels were required to be dug at three locations and initially proposed to accommodate an 8-lane roadway keeping future needs in mind, they were restricted to 6-lane tunnels.
📌Consequently, the overall project cost was trimmed to Rs. 30,491 crores. Following these substantial cuts, the NHAI decided to proceed with the construction of iconic bridges. As requested by the CM previously, cable-supported iconic bridges will be built on the upstream side.
