Rourkela: The river bridge on Brahmani, termed as the lifeline of the Steel City and Sundargarh district is dilapidating day by day with cracks appearing on the bridge in regular intervals.
In the latest case, traffic on the river bridge came to a standstill Thursday morning after a large crack appeared on the left side of the bridge.
The matter came to the fore after motorists witnessed the crack and informed local police.
Heavy traffic jam was seen on the bridge with hundreds of vehicles and commuters remaining stranded on it for long hours. The worst sufferers were the patients ferried in ambulances and students.
Vehicular movement resumed after police intervened. The fresh development has sparked panic among residents and motorists.
Rabi Narayan Das, a resident, of Panposh alleged that thousand of vehicles ply on the route. However, with cracks appearing in regular intervals and iron rods protruding out of it, it has become a risky affair to travel on the bridge. Most of the railings of the bridge are broken.
The highway authorities carry out minimum repairing leaving the rods protruding which often results in mishap on the bridge. Moreover, commuters fear that the bridge might collapse anytime as it had been shaking due to movement of heavy vehicles.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised a second bridge on the Brahmani in 2014. Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation stone in 2017.
However, several years have passed since then but work on the bridge is yet to begin.
When contacted, Sourav Chaurasia, director NHAI said that a complete renovation works of the bridge will be undertaken in the first week of June for which traffic on the bridge will be closed for fortnight.
PNN