Panbazar road overbridge to be ready by July: NFR
Guwahati: Construction of the Panbazar road overbridge (ROB), which began last year, is expected to be completed by July, Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) officials said.
The bridge is likely to ease traffic congestion in the Paltan Bazar and Panbazar areas, two of the city's oldest cosmopolitan areas.
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"As of now, concretisation work on the bridge's approaches is going on. But most of the work has been completed, including laying the foundational structures, significant fabrications, and placing the bow string girders. Advanced sub-soil strengthening through geo-cell technology has also been completed. The project is expected to be complete by July this year," said Kapinjal Kishore Sharma, chief public relations officer, NFR.
The construction work of the ROB has not been progressing on a smooth note. The CPRO said the presence of the fire brigade station posed a challenge in the stacking of construction materials, limiting workspace efficiency.
Approximately Rs 48 crore in cost, the project was undertaken by a Kolkata-based construction company to facilitate the smooth movement of the electric locomotives as part of the NFR's ongoing electrification process, where high-voltage lines have been installed.
However, the old ROB, which was built in 1965, had turned into a 'dead wire zone'. The area under the bridge was a neutral point, and since it was not charged, it restricted the speed permanently to 15 km/h.
As a result, locomotives approaching Guwahati railway station failed to maintain the required momentum, causing them to halt in that area.
"Waterlogging also used to be a recurring challenge, especially during heavy rains, causing signal failures and disruptions.
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With the necessary adjustments to this project, the lifted track levels will prevent waterlogging, ensuring smooth operations even during monsoons," Sharma said.
He added that the new ROB will aim to address the limitations of its predecessor while introducing significant enhancements. With a span of 60 meters, it will provide improved vertical and horizontal clearance. It will also feature a three-lane wide road replacing its two-lane limitations, which will increase its capacity to handle higher volumes of road traffic as well, thus ensuring a smoother transportation system for commuters.
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