ROURKELA: Uncertainty looms over completion of three key bridge projects in Sundargarh district, which are facing inordinate delay due to various reasons.
The three under-construction projects including a low-height-bridge-cum-barrage over Koel river with a combined investment of around Rs 385 crore, are intended to provide shortest communication link from Rourkela city to the industrial belt of Kuanrmunda and the agrarian regions of Nuagaon and Bisra. Conceived around seven to 15 years ago, the projects are lingering for the last many years.
Sources said the Koel bridge project between Pradhanpali in Rourkela and Jamunanaki in Kuanrmunda was sanctioned in 2018 with funding from the District Mineral Foundation (DMF). The Works department awarded the project to Rajlaxmi Construction at a cost of Rs 28.85 crore in mid-2020 with an initial completion target of December 2022.
SDO, Works department Nityanand Singh said eight of the 14 spans of the bridge project have been completed. The contractor, however, is facing technical problems in sinking wells on the riverbed for the remaining six spans. The deadline has now been extended to June 2026. Singh clarified that no cost overrun will be permitted.
Similarly, the road over bridge (ROB) project on the Howrah-Mumbai main line of South Eastern Railway (SER) and NH-320D at Kukudagate remains in a half-finished state due to land acquisition hurdles. After completing the ROB structure and the approach road on Bisra side, Rajlaxmi Construction issued a work-closure notice in March 2025 citing delays in securing land on Rourkela side. However, SER is continuing its portion of work over the railway tracks.
Sources said sanctioned in 2010 at an estimated cost of Rs 47 crore, the ROB project was implemented in March 2022 with a 30-month deadline. However, no progress has been made on the Rourkela side following a clash involving local tribal residents.
Local panchayat samiti member Rabi Majhi said work on Rourkela side is yet to start due to persistent land acquisition delays. Officials said acquisition of 1.91 acre of private land is underway.
Conceptualised in 2010 and launched in 2014, the low-height-bridge-cum-barrage over Koel river is now taking shape at Hamirpur, Rourkela. Construction began in September 2022 with an initial deadline of March 2025.
Superintending engineer of Rourkela Irrigation division Sanjay Kala said the deadline has been extended to June 2026, and the project is about 70 per cent complete. The Rs 309-crore structure envisages improved connectivity along with drinking water storage for Rourkela and irrigation support for Kuanrmunda, Nuagaon and Bisra blocks.