Puri, Aug 24: The Samjajpur Bridge which had been closed since July due to cracks on the bridge would start functioning again with the vehicular movement by first week of September, as informed by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) on Tuesday.
No agencies were available to undertake the specialized work on the bridge, stated Dharmananda Sarangi, Regional Officer of NHAI. He further said that the company, who was contracted for the construction of the bridge earlier, has been asked to work on the bridge but due to the involvement of the company in other project works, the work is being delayed.
Vehicular movement on this bridge had been prohibited as some cracks were observed on the bridge, which was constructed during Nabakalebara Yatra last year.
Cracks on the railway over bridge were seen that was constructed by spending Rs 600 crore. On the other hand, the temporary approach roads that were built on both sides of the bridge by spending Rs 22 lakh, were also in a bad state, a resident of Puri said.
A review meeting to discuss the railway over bridge and drainage work was held in Puri, which was chaired by Maheswar Mohanty, Puri legislator. In the meeting, Dr AB Ota, Central Range Revenue Divisional Commissioner and Arvind Agarwal, Puri Collector were also present.
