Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari will inaugurate Goa's new Zuari bridge on December 29, 2022. Zuari bridge is an important link between North and South Goa and the project has been under construction for a long time. Nitin Gadkari also shared a video of the new bridge on Twitter calling it a n 'Architectural Marvel'. It's the second largest cable-stayed bridge in India, only behind Mumbai's Bandra-Worli sea link. Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had earlier announced that people could walk on the new structure and admire it before its inauguration.


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A large number of revellers gathered at the new bridge after it was thrown open for pedestrians ahead of the inauguration. The old bridge that runs parallel to it witnessed a huge traffic jam. Scores of vehicles, many of which were ferrying passengers to the Dabolim Airport, were caught in the massive congestion on Monday evening on the old bridge, where traffic came to a standstill for more than three hours.



In contrast, hundreds of people thronged the new Zuari bridge at the same time to click selfies and have a first-hand experience of the cable-stayed structure. Local performers were also seen singing with their band on it.


A senior police official said lakhs of people have arrived in the coastal state to celebrate the New Year, adding to the number of vehicles on the road and worsening the situation. "The traffic jam began in the afternoon and continued till late evening. Some cars which were stuck in the jam at 7 pm continued crawling till 11 pm. Thousands of vehicles were seen on the old Zuari bridge and the roads leading to it," he said.


Goa NRI Commissioner Narendra Sawaikar recently shared the first look of the bridge. Sawaikar tweeted, "Visited the amazing, panaromic New Zuari Bridge to be inaugarated on 29th December. Conceived & gifted by late Manoharbhai Parrikar under the leadership of Hon. PM Shri. @narendramodi Ji & Union Minister Shri. @nitin_gadkari Ji."


Goa Forward Party General Secretary Durgadas Kamat in a tweet on Tuesday said even a tea stall using an electric connection was installed on the new bridge. He raised questions over the decision of a company which constructed the bridge to allow the tea stall to operate before the inauguration.


With PTI inputs