Chandigarh, Aug. 28 -- One of the key bridges connecting Malwa with Doaba, built on the Sutlej river in Machhiwara of Ludhiana district, has been declared unfit for heavy traffic within 18 years after its construction, bringing a major embarrassment to the state public works department (PWD), but no accountability has been fixed so far. Constructed in 2006 at the cost of over Rs.32 crore, the 717.4-metre long and 5.6-metre wide bridge was expected to serve commuters for decades. A team of experts from IIT-Roorkee has submitted two reports, confirming that the structure is beyond repair. The bridge, also known as the Machhiwara high-level bridge, catered to vehicles travelling towards Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Nawanshahr. The PWD, Ludhiana, had entrusted Sood Engineer and Contractor, Panchkula, with the work. The IIT was hired by state PWD in 2022 to assess the construction of the bridge after reports of damage started emerging in 2016. In its first report submitted in 2024, IIT experts had asked the PWD to close it for heavy traffic, but as traffic movement continued, PWD special secretary Hargunjit Kaur wrote to the deputy commissioner of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar on August 21, 2025, to immediately ensure that bridge is closed fully for heavy traffic. The Punjab PWD has paid the IIT-Roorkee Rs.22 lakh for the first report, the documents with HT suggest. In its second report submitted on July 18, 2025, IIT-Roorkee has made scathing observations about the bridge. "The total allowable stress (working load analysis) has already significantly exceeded for the bridge and there doesn't seem to be any significant way in which these stresses can be reduced as any external prestressing would only serve in exceeding these values. There doesn't seem to be any reasonable way to retrofit the bridge and at least the most critical span should be dismantled," stated the report, a copy of which is with HT. Similar observations were also made by the IIT-Roorkee team in the first report submitted in 2022. Since, the IIT team was not given a proper record of the bridge in the first inspection, a second visit of the team was arranged early this year. The contractor's role, according to sources in the PWD, has been under scanner. According to an internal report by the PWD, while one slab of the bridge was damaged in 2018, another was damaged in 2021. At that time, the PWD secretary had written to the department to adopt a proper working plan to save the bridge and fix accountability of the contractor. "What has raised eyebrows is the complete absence of accountability. Neither PWD officials nor the contractor responsible for the construction have been questioned about how a project worth crores could deteriorate so rapidly," questioned Nawanshahr MLA Nachhatar Pal. Ramtesh Bains, PWD chief engineer, central, that covers Ludhiana and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar districts, admitted that the matter needs strict action. "It was only after the efforts from my office that IIT-Roorkee was involved to assess the situation. We have written to the headquarters to take necessary action. A committee has been constituted for investigation," said Bains. The bridge's closure has already started affecting connectivity in the region....