Title - Flyover soil survey starts

The road construction department has started collecting soil samples on the Jagdeo Path-Sheikhpura Mor stretch of Bailey Road as the first step to the flyover project. Soil samples are being collected by boring 30-50m deep every 100m to 125m from Jagdeo Path Mor. The work is expected to be complete in around 10 days. Underground cables are expected to be laid for power supply next week after which overhead electric poles and wires on the stretch would be removed. The process is expected to take four months. Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam (BRPNN), a wing of the road construction department, is supervising the flyover project, a first for the state capital. A senior officer of BRPNN said: "Ranjit Buildcon Limited, a Gujarat-based firm, has been selected to construct the Jagdeo Path Mor-Sheikhpura Mor flyover with an outlay of Rs 161.97 crore. The soil inspection work started last week. Thirty to fifty-metre-deep borings are being dug at an interval of 100-125m starting from Jagdeo Path Mor. The collection of soil samples will be complete in another 10 days. The samples will be then tested on various parameters to assist in the alignment planning for the flyover." The company was awarded the work on June 5. Sources said around 1.5km of borings have been made till the entrance gate of Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences. The officer added: "Apart from soil inspections, work on the underground electric cabling would also start next week. Once the underground cables are laid, power will be supplied through these cables. The electric poles and wires on the road will be removed. The construction of the flyover is expected to start from October and would be completed in 2014." The state cabinet on February 2 approved the project with a total outlay of Rs 161.97 crore ' central assistance of Rs 48 crore and Rs 113.97 crore from the state's plan. Sources said the state government has sanctioned Rs 48 crore as the first instalment for the project in January. Although Patna has eight railway overbridges, this is the first flyover that is being constructed. Sources said the flyover is being constructed as a means to decongest traffic on this stretch of Bailey Road that is choked with frequent traffic snarls. Authorities also anticipate an increase in traffic once the under-construction Sonepur-Digha rail-cum-road bridge is ready for operation, expected by 2017. The Jagdeo Path-Sheikhpura Mor flyover would be 2.275km-long, including 300m of approach roads. The flyover would have four lanes 25-m wide and the design will ensure that the pillars occupy minimum space. The specifications of the flyover have been fixed according to the service roads that would run parallel to it on both sides. The service roads will allow traffic on the stretch during the construction of the flyover.