Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Puri, Jun 11:

Vehicles plying on the damaged Samjajpur railway overbridge in Odisha’s Puri will be diverted to two alternative roads from tomorrow. This apart, the Railways has been told to construct two level crossings, sources said.

PURI-BRIDGE

Works Department secretary Nalinikanta Pradhan and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) Odisha chief Dharmananda Sarangi today inspected the bridge. Puri Collector Aravind Agrawal and SP Sarthak Sarangi were also present at the spot.

"The bridge is not in safe condition. It has been decided to renovate it immediately and a contingency plan has been prepared for it. The route will be diverted from 6 am tomorrow morning. The NHAI authorities have been strictly told to finish the bridge restoration work by June 30 so that there will be no disturbance during Rath Yatra," Pradhan said.

"The railway level crossings are not in proper condition. The Railways authorities have been told to finish repairing work of the crossings by today evening so that traffic can be diverted from tomorrow morning. The overbridge will not be used from tomorrow. However, vehicles will be allowed to go over the bride on June 20 (Snana Yatra) in controlled condition," Agrawal said.

Notably, the NHAI had written a letter to Puri collector saying that the Samjajpur railway overbridge may collapse at anytime if its not repaired and restored soon.

The overbridge, which was constructed during Nabakalebara last year, has developed cracks at many places. Besides, several portions of road over the bridge have caved in.

The NHAI has been directed to complete the repairing work of the overbridge by June 30.