India’s Second Longest Cable-Stayed Bridge Opens in Shivamogga

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the Sigandur bridge, India’s second longest cable-stayed bridge, on July 16, 2025, in Shivamogga district, Karnataka. This new bridge stretches 2.44 km across the Sharavathi backwaters and will help improve road connectivity between Sagara town and Sigandur, where the famous Chowdeshwari Temple is located.

Major Bridge Brings New Hope

The Sigandur bridge is 16 meters wide and has been built at a cost of over ₹470 crore. It connects Sagara with Marakutika, reducing travel time and improving access to nearby villages and religious places. After the Linganamakki dam was built in the 1960s, many areas lost road links. This bridge now restores that vital connection.

At the inauguration, Nitin Gadkari named the bridge after Goddess Chowdeshwari Devi and said it would greatly help local people and pilgrims visiting the temple.

Road Development in Karnataka

Speaking at the event, Gadkari said that the total length of National Highways in Karnataka has increased from 6,707 km in 2014 to 9,424 km in 2025. He shared that by the end of the government’s term, ₹5 lakh crore worth of road works will be completed in the state.

Major projects include,

• Belagavi-Hungund-Raichur corridor, ready by 2027
• Hassan-Raichur highway, to be finished by December 2028
• Tumkuru-Shivamogga road, done by the end of this year
• Mysuru-Madakeri four-lane road and Chitradurga-Shivamogga roads, to be done by next year

National Highway Plans

At the national level, Gadkari gave updates on several big highway projects,

• Leh-Ladakh road via Zojila tunnel will be opened next year
• The Surat-Chennai highway, passing through six states, will also be completed by next year
• It will shorten the distance to Bengaluru by 280 km and to Chennai by 320 km
• The Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway will be finished in six months, cutting travel time from eight hours to two