Army hands over newly built overbridge to Delhi govt

The army on Friday handed over the newly-built Bailey pedestrian overbridge to the Delhi government, just six days after it was tasked to do it. The bridge connects the parking lot of the stadium with other side of the street in Lodhi Road in south Delhi. The army engineers began work on the bridge on Saturday and completed its construction on Wednesday.

The Delhi government approached the army after the 95-metre-long under-construction bridge came crashing down on September 21 injuring 27 people and causing major embarrassment to the country.

The bridge, which was intended to be a showpiece, was built by a private firm for the Delhi government's Public Works Department along with another adjacent bridge at a cost of Rs 10.5 crore.

The army was approached to replace the collapsed overbridge, after an alternative plan formulated by the PWD for entry of spectators into the stadium from the south side was rejected due to security concerns.

An army engineering regiment with nearly 1,000 men was deployed to construct the Bailey bridge -- a portable pre-fabricated bridge designed for use by military units. A Delhi government official said the PWD has completed construction of the second foot overbridge, adjacent to the collapsed bridge.