VSS Nagar ROB to be ready by December

BHUBANESWAR: Finally, the Railways took a big step towards completion of the important road over bridge (ROB) on VSS Nagar level crossing in the city. It launched five 36-meter-long, 35-tonne steel girders as a part of the ROB in only three hours on Friday. With this, East Coast Railway (ECoR) assured that the ROB work will be completed by December this year.
This complex task was carried out by the construction wing of the ECoR under a well-planned three-hour traffic and overhead equipment (OHE) block. “Executing such a challenging operation in a busy railway line, especially in Howrah-Chennai main line, one of India's busiest railway sections, required proper planning and coordination,” said the ECoR official statement.
The ROB at VSS Nagar is being constructed to replace the level crossing between Bhubaneswar and Mancheswar stations. It has been a bottleneck for both road and rail traffic. “Once completed, it will drastically improve the traffic flow in areas like Mancheswar industrial estate, Chakeisiani, VSS Nagar, Sainik School, Gadakana and Chandrasekharpur in Bhubaneswar,” said a railway official.
The railway statement said the remaining construction work in the railway portion, including deck slab installations, crash barriers, and approach junctions, will be completed by December. State govt is also on track to finish the road approach girders within the same time frame, it added.
People of the locality depend on this level crossing every day. They wait for several minutes to cross the level crossing. During an urgent medical situation, there is no way out if the gate is closed. As it is a main line, more than a hundred trains pass the level crossing every day. People get irritated by this, said a local.
“The completion of this ROB will provide much-needed relief to commuters. The ROB’s railway portion is constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 48.2 crore. Several critical works, including the relocation of electrical transformers and underground cables, were completed earlier to facilitate the progress of this mega project,” said the official sources.
This project sanctioned in 2009 got delayed for years. Locals have been demanding for completion of the project early.