Traffic on Goa-Karnataka highway hit as Kali river bridge collapses

PANAJI: A bridge on the Kali river collapsed in the wee hours of Wednesday, resulting in heavy traffic on national highway no. 66 connecting Goa to Karnataka, officials said.

A truck crossing the bridge at the time fell into the water. Local fishermen later rescued its driver, a police official from Karwar in neighbouring Karnataka told PTI.

An old bridge on the Kali river at Sadashivgad in Karnataka collapsed at around 1 am, he said.

The bridge was used for Goa-bound traffic after the construction of a new one a decade back, the official said.

Traffic on the new bridge was stopped for some time in the wee hours of Wednesday following the incident. Later, vehicles, except heavy ones, were allowed to pass through, the Karwar police said.

Traffic movement on the new bridge was restricted as the Karnataka authorities were checking its stability after the collapse of the old bridge, Goa’s Canacona police station in-charge Harish Raut Desai said.

The Goa police were coordinating with their counterparts in Karwar to monitor the situation on the highway, he said.