Joda: The appearance of cracks on the newly-built flyover passing through this town in Keonjhar district has sparked concern among the residents. Regular commuters are now questioning the quality of its construction. The flyover was opened for public use March 11, 2024. Hence the appearance of cracks in less than four months of its inauguration has created serious apprehensions in the minds of the commuters.
It’s not just the cracks that are bothering the users. At various places concrete slabs have become loose and at other places iron rods are protruding out putting the lives of the commuters at risk. Someone can seriously get injured due to the rods, they opined.
After initial reports of the damages surfaced, Odisha Bridge Construction Corporation Ltd (OBCCL), the main agency entrusted with the responsibility of building the flyover acknowledged the issues and stopped movement of heavy vehicles and started repairing the bridge. Residents are now worried as to whether they should use the flyover or not. They have blamed the shoddy work of the agency for the present state of affairs.
Locals said the Joda flyover is deemed as the longest in Odisha. The state government had sanctioned `250 crore for construction of the flyover which is 2.9km in length.
Narasingh Mohanta, general manager of OBBCL had claimed after the flyover’s inauguration that it can endure the movements of heavy to very heavy vehicles. However, now it seems those claims were false. Mohanta had also asserted that with proper maintenance, the flyover will last more than 100 years. He had also claimed that using of rubber bearings in place of iron ones will increase the durability of the bridge. Now it seems that the tall claims have fallen flat.
Such is the condition of the flyover that it shakes violently when a couple of heavy vehicles pass over it at the same time. Pictures of the shaking bridge have gone viral on several social media platforms. However, more importantly, residents of this town remain panic-stricken when they use the bridge.
Residents alleged that the previous state government inaugurated the flyover hastily without conducting proper examination as both the Lok Sabha and the Assembly elections were on the anvil. They wanted to take credit for construction of the bridge. Now however, safety concerns have cropped up in a major way due to the wear and tear of the bridge.
When contacted, Bhagirathi Panda, a human resources official of ‘Chevrox Constructions Private Ltd’ which had received the contract from OBCCL for construction said the flyover has a capacity to take a maximum load of 200 tonne at any particular time. However, the movements of heavy vehicles have not been streamlined. Hence there are many occasions when the bridge has to bear weight exceeding its capacity. Panda said that this is the main reason why the ‘wearing coat’ (upper layer) is peeling off. Unless the weight is streamlined, the flyover will suffer excessive wear and tear, he added.
Panda informed that the flyover has been closed for commuters as a fresh layer of ‘wearing coat’ is being laid. He also added that the service roads leading to the flyover will be concretised.
PNN