Shillong, March 26: The much-awaited Bailey bridge over Dwar Ksuid River in Ri Bhoi District was inaugurated on Thursday by Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong along with the officials from the National Highway Authority of India.

The Bailey bridge, which will facilitate the transportation of essential commodities was inaugurated in the presence of Sohiong MLA Samlin Malngiang and Umroi MLA George B Lyngdoh, among others.

The Bailey bridge across the Dwar ksuid was inaugurated today at 4 pm by the Dy CM I n the presence of the MLA of Umroi constituency along with senior officials of the State PWD , BRO & the NHAI @nitin_gadkari pic.twitter.com/Qjqvf2Eoel

— Conrad Sangma (@SangmaConrad) March 25, 2021

Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said the Ri Bhoi district administration has been directed to find a permanent solution to the temporary bridge.

“…State Government jointly with the National Highway Authority of India have taken a decision that we will have a temporary Bailey Bridge and ultimately we are able to complete the Bailey bridge …,” Tynsong said.

“I am happy to inform all of you that the plying of the loaded vehicle will start immediately when we leave this place,” he added.

Stating that the loaded vehicles will start plying on the Bailey bridge immediately, the Deputy Chief Minister said, “The state government along with the National Highway Authority of India, we are still working out about the existing RCC bridge whether we will able to make it again functional or not that still depend on the technical detail report submitted by the expert and then the Ministry of Road Transport will take a call on this.”

For a permanent solution, he said, “ …. District Administration has been asked to identify alternative permanent alignment where the Deputy Commission will be on the job identifying the players and then processing of land accusation and all and that will take some time,” the Minister informed.

The 230 feet Bailey bridge is a temporary structure with a capacity of 40 MT built to cater to heavy vehicles and the loaded trucks passing through the Shillong Bypass.

The Dwar-Ksuid Bridge has been lying in a dilapidated state for the past couple of months now as a result of which heavy vehicles, including loaded trucks and buses, have been plying through the heart of the city during the night.