Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 24 Jul: State Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Satpal Maharaj conducted a surprise inspection on Friday of the rain-damaged road near Pani Wala Bend in Kolhukhet, Mussoorie, as well as the under-construction double-lane bridge at Km 18 on the Dehradun–Mussoorie State Highway No. 1. During the visit, he reviewed the progress of restoration and construction works and instructed officials to ensure their timely completion so that normal traffic movement can be restored at the earliest.
The Minister said that on the night of 20 July 2026, heavy rainfall caused approximately 20 metres of the roadway near Pani Wala Bend on the Dehradun–Mussoorie State Highway No. 1 to collapse, reducing the usable width of the road to about 2.5 metres. The department immediately deployed JCB machines and initiated restoration work. Efforts are currently underway to facilitate additional hill cutting where required to restore safe and smooth traffic movement.
He further stated that ULLMC, Uttarakhand’s expert agency for slope treatment, inspected vulnerable locations at Km 20 and Km 25 of the motor road on Friday. Based on the inspection, slope protection and other safety measures will be initiated at the earliest to enhance the stability and safety of the route.
Speaking about the bridge project, Satpal Maharaj commented that a 60-metre span, double-lane Class A/70R loading steel box bridge is being constructed at a cost of Rs 12 crore to replace the damaged single-lane bridge at Km 18 in the Mussoorie Assembly constituency.
He stated that fabrication of the bridge has been completed 100 percent, while ground erection work is currently in progress and is expected to be completed by 30 July 2026. On the Dehradun side, excavation and concreting of seven piles have been completed, while the remaining two piles are scheduled for completion by the same deadline. On the Mussoorie side, excavation and concreting of three out of nine piles have been completed, and work on the remaining piles is progressing rapidly. To expedite construction, excavation work is also being carried out using a ring machine on the Dehradun side.
The inspection was attended by Rajesh Sharma, Chief Engineer, PWD; OP Singh, Superintending Engineer; and Rajesh Kumar, Executive Engineer.
