ROURKELA: With work on four-laning of the busy National Highway (NH) 143 in progress, Sundargarh MP Jual Oram has sought two flyovers at Rangila Chowk and Jalda C Block on the NH for convenience of local commuters.
In a letter to Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, Oram has requested the Central Minister to issue necessary instructions to authorities concerned and take up the proposal as a priority.
“Rangila Chowk and the adjacent Jalda C Block area are thickly populated. Once the NH becomes four-laned, the population on both sides of the highway would be at higher risk of mishaps while crossing or making lateral entries as the stretches are highly accident prone. The flyovers will also ensure smooth traffic flow,” he said.
However, NHAI sources said the flyovers at the cited spots would neither be economically feasible nor helpful to the local residents. “Rather, vehicular underpasses are better options. An underpass with a width of 12 metres and height of five-and-half metre would cost about `10 crore and can be taken up with the Ministry’s sanction,” they said.
Earlier, former MLA Rabi Dehuri too had written to Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan seeking a flyover across the NH 143, who had then forwarded the letter to Gadkari.
Meanwhile, Gadkari is likely to have a review meeting in Bhubaneswar on November 16 over progress of national highway projects across Odisha, including rehabilitation and upgradation projects of NH 143 and 520 in Sundargarh district. NHAI sources said the second Brahmani bridge on NH-143 is the most focused project.