BHUBANESWAR: The ground work for phase-I construction of the metro rail project in the capital city has been partially halted as the state government is planning to revise the DPR for facilitating a flyover on the elevated corridor along Jayadev Vihar-Nandankanan stretch.
An official from the city coordination committee of the mass rapid transit system (MRTS) said pillar work for the project was scheduled to start after completion of soil testing. However, work of the Jayadev Vihar-Nandankanan stretch has been suspended temporarily as the state government is considering a change of plan.
“Though it has not been finalised yet, the government may come up with a fresh DPR. We had been instructed not to proceed with the ongoing work on the Jayadev-Nandankanan stretch because of the proposed flyover project,” the officer said.
Works minister Prithiviraj Harichandan had earlier announced that the elevated corridor would feature both metro train track and a flyover beneath it for vehicular movement and smooth regulation of traffic on the stretch.
Sources said the flyover will be constructed at a height of around 8 mtr from the road, while the metro track will be positioned 14 mtr above the ground. The plan is expected to help the government get rid of the time-consuming process of land acquisition that would otherwise be needed for road expansion on the stretch.
The state government has planned to take up the phase-I metro project of the 26-km-long stretch between Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar to Trisulia in Cuttack at an investment of `6,225 crore. The foundation stone for the project was laid at Ratagada Lenka Sahi near Trisulia on January 1 last year.
The Bhubaneswar Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has already started preliminary work on the elevated corridor. The work of the metro depot at Phulapokhari on the city outskirts is also in progress.
The state government has allocated around Rs 304 crore for the project this year. IIT Madras has also been roped in for a pilot study of traffic for the flyover project, sources said.