Title - Railway over bridge delay stalls outer ring road

NAGPUR: Lack of coordination between various government agencies has led to delay in construction of Gaosi Manapur railway over bridge (ROB), which is the only hurdle in the Gondkhairi-Gaosi Manapur stretch of outer ring road. This stretch links Amravati Road with Wardha Road. The ROB is already behind schedule by two years.One fourth of outer ring road linking Pardi (Bhandara Road) to Jamtha (Wardha Road) having a length of 21km has already been thrown open for traffic. Public Works Department (PWD) had constructed 17km outer ring road from Gondkhairi (Amravati Road) to west side of Nagpur-Wardha railway line in 2009. This project was completed on time.However, another 5km needed to be constructed to reach Wardha Road. The approach roads to the ROB have been constructed and only the bridge remains. The commencement date for constructing this ROB was January 20, 2009. The ROB was to be completed by July 2010. In fact, the defect liability period - the period during which contractor is held responsible for any defect in the structure - was up to July 2012.Railways usually do not allow other agencies to construct the stretch of bridge that is exactly above the railway line. PWD had deposited a sum with Central Railway for laying a slab over the railway track. A Central Railway official said that it will be thrown open for traffic by October. However, officials of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and PWD say it won't be completed before December.

TOI visited the ROB site on Friday. The ramp, which has been constructed by the PWD, is ready. Pillars have been constructed to support the slab that lies over the railway line.

A NHAI official said that once Gondkhairi-Gaosi Manapur link is completed, heavy vehicles travelling from Mumbai region to Kolkata region will pass through it and then through Jamtha-Pardi stretch of outer ring road thus bypassing the city.

Meanwhile, a consultant has been appointed for examining the viability of Gondkhairi-Pardi stretch of outer ring road. This will link Amravati Road to Bhandara Road via Katol Road, Chhindwara Road and Kamptee Road. The consultant has also been asked to suggest areas through which the road should pass. This stretch is likely to take years for completion as some land belonging to forest department will have to be acquired.

The stretch is expected to cost more than Rs250 crore. It includes 24.06km stretch linking Amravati Road to Chhindwara Road, 7.96km stretch linking Chhindwara Road to Kamptee Road and 8.75km stretch linking Kamptee Road to Bhandara Road. PWD plans to construct it in phases depending on availability of funds.