Bhubaneswar: The work on converting the Road Over Bridge (RoB) near Vani Vihar in Odisha capital to three-lane would begin after the end of Hockey World Cup next year.
Reviewing the progress of the construction of the three-lane ROB at a meeting in Bhubaneswar on Friday, Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra directed the officials of Rail Vikash Nigam Limited (RVNL) to commence the work in the first week of February immediately after the Hockey World Cup.
Mahapatra said considering the traffic movement during the World Cup, the work on dismantling the present two-lane RoB and construction of new three-lane RoB needs to be postponed. The three-lane RoB has been necessitated in view of the construction of the third rail line on Khurda-Barang section of the East Coast Railway (ECoR).
Chief Project Manager of RVNL Pradeep Kumar Mohanty said out of 32 km railway line between Khurda and Barang, 26 km has been completed and construction of the rest 6 km between Bhubaneswar and Mancheswar would be taken up after the demolition of old RoB.
Considered as a supercritical project, the cost of the third rail line has been estimated to be Rs 581 crore. The three-lane RoB will be commissioned in a year, he added.
During the construction of the second ROB, traffic will be diverted on the two-lane RoB. The vehicular movement will resume on the three-lane RoB after its construction and the adjacent two-lane RoB will be used as a service road in Rasulgarh.
The chief secretary also reviewed the modernisation plan for Bhubaneswar railway station. It was revealed at the meeting that the developmental activities will be taken up both sides of the station. The chief secretary asked the ECoR officials to consult the BDA before starting construction activities.
Commissioner, Railway Coordination Manoj Kumar Mishra; Commissioner of Police Saumendra Priyadarshi; BMC Commissioner Vijay Amruta Kulange; BDA Vice-Chairman Balwant Singh; DRM, Khurda Road Division Rinkesh Roy and Chief Engineer of ECoR were present at the meeting.
