Traffic woes along National Highway-5 in the Capital City are set to be alleviated as the flyovers on one of the busiest thoroughfares in the State are likely to be thrown open for use by the end of March.

Of five flyovers being constructed by the NHAI, four at Vani Vihar, Acharya Vihar, CRPF Square and Fire Station Square are on the verge of completion. The commissioning of the flyovers is expected to commence from the third week of this month. The Rasulgarh project, though, has fallen behind on account of land acquisition process and is targeted to be completed by July.

The flyovers will also be complemented by the one at Phulnakhara and the new bridge on Mahanadi river which will drastically reduce commuting time for passengers not only within the Capital but also to Cuttack and onwards.

Executed by the Shree Jagannath Expressways Pvt Ltd (SJEPL), the NHAI flyover projects at the four points of Vani Vihar, Acharya Vihar, CRPF Square and Fire Station span 130 metres each. They have been constructed at a cost of `10.85 crore each. The Phulnakhara flyover extends over 180 metre and is built at a cost of `14.92 crore.

The NHAI had started the projects in January, 2012 to cover a distance of 67 km along Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Chandikhol stretch. The highway development entails construction of seven flyovers with four lanes along with bridges over Mahanadi, Kathjodi, Kuakhai and Birupa rivers with a total project cost of `1500 crore.

According to sources, the flyovers have been completed before the deadline of 2014-end. The project execution has been expedited by the use of pre-cast concrete in segmental casting technology. In the method, the concrete segments are built off-site and are brought to the site for joining.

While overcoming the space constraints at the project location, the method also saves a lot of time and reduces chances of accidents and other traffic-related issues, sources said.

The new bridge on the Mahanadi will also be opened by the first week of April that will enable linking and commissioning of the Jagatpur flyover.

The bridge, which would be the third on the river, has been constructed at a cost of `120 crore within a period of three years. It will have three lanes and facilitate onward movement of traffic from Cuttack to Chandikhol. The existing two bridges with four lanes will be used for downward traffic to Cuttack.

Work on the new bridges on Kathajodi, Birupa and Kuakhai are progressing satisfactorily. They will also have three lanes but will be used for downward traffic from to Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, sources said.

Source-http://www.newindianexpress.com/