Mangaluru : The Union government has sanctioned ₹ 37.84 crore for constructing a new major bridge across the Phalguni at Gurupura.

A letter from the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to the Secretary of the State Public Works Department on Monday said that technical, administrative and financial sanction for the project has been sanctioned.

The bridge on National Highway 169 (Mangaluru-Sholapur section) has been proposed to be constructed under engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode.

The PWD had estimated the cost of construction at ₹ 38.07 crore. After examining the technical aspects of the project proposal, the Ministry sanctioned ₹ 37.84 crore to it.

According to the technical note, the bridge would be 16 m wide, including a 10-m carriageway. There would be seven spans.

The letter said that if the cost of tender exceeds 5 % of the sanctioned estimated cost, a revised estimate could be got sanctioned from the Ministry.

It said that 30 % of the physical progress of the bridge work (₹ 11.35 crore) should be completed during 2018-19 and the entire bridge should be completed during 2019-20.

Meanwhile, the government has proposed to upgrade the highway stretch between Mangaluru and Karkala via Moodbidri as a four-lane road. When this project takes off, the new bridge would serve as an additional carriageway to the existing narrow bridge.

The PWD engineers with other experts recently checked the strength of the existing bridge as some had expressed apprehension that the bridge was not safe. However, the engineers declared it safe for traffic movement.