A 98-metre long under construction bridge over a stream of Bagmati and Lakhandei rivers in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar subsided after its middle pillar collapsed.
The incident took place last evening and nobody was injured as the workers and officials had left for the day.
The Rs 7 crore bridge, located at Katra-Kevatsa route in Aurai block of the district was supposed to provide a stable road link to 15 panchayats populated by over 1 lakh people, which get cut-off from the district headquarters during the monsoon due to swirling rivers.
The project is a brainchild of Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam (BRPNN) and was being constructed with the help of NABARD.
"The bridge collapsed after its middle pier gave way. Our chief engineer has gone to the spot to probe the incident. We will be able to say what had happened there only after he submits his report," BRPNN Chairman Sridhar C said.
The site where the bridge was located is not a defined river and the construction was being done by taking into consideration 7-metre depth of water, BRPNN Muzaffarpur Project Engineer B K Singh said.
"Our estimate is that more water came to the stream this time from different routes. It was unexpected, and hit the pillar from an angle. It could have collapsed due to the pressure of water," said Singh.
Work on the bridge had started in February 2014 and was supposed to be completed by August next year, but its contractor was trying to finish it before the deadline.
