SAMBALPUR: After missing the November 2016 deadline, the Public Works Department (PWD) has set a target to complete the work on second bridge over river Mahanadi connecting Nelson Mandela Chowk near Ring Road here with village Chaunrpur by March next year.
Sharing details about the project, Executive Engineer of PWD, Division I, Sambalpur, Gouranga Charan Sahu said the launching of guarder and laying of 40 slabs had been completed. Altogether, 50 slabs will be laid to erect the bridge, he added.
The construction work was going on in full swing till May 14, 2016. However, the sudden release of water from the auto siphon of power channel into the river on May 15 hampered the construction work and subsequently delayed the project.
The released water had also washed away the temporary road meant for movement of construction vehicles in the river bed, halting the construction work completely till the end of monsoon. The work on the 1,500-metre bridge began on November 10, 2014. The construction of the bridge has been estimated at about `93.86 crore. The bridge will be 14.8-metre wide and will have a footpath of 1.5-metre on either side.
Currently, commuters are travelling around 25 km to reach Chaunrpur. Once the bridge is constructed, it will reduce the distance substantially. Moreover, it will also help ease traffic on National Highway 6 as the Ring Road connects both NH 6 and NH 55 on either side.
It will also provide alternative connectivity from Sambalpur to Bargarh. More than 50 villages under Gram Panchayats of Chaunrpur, Baijamunda, Kalamati, Aamsada Katapali, Senhapali and Basantpur will get connected to the rest of the district. The proposed bridge will boost further expansion of the city as large patches of government land are lying unused across the river.