Danger Dangles: Gowari Flyover Portion Damaged, Traffic At Risk

Nagpur: The construction work of the bridge, which had caved in during the flash flood last year, reportedly damaged part of the Shaheed Gowari flyover near Dhiran Kanya School on Wardha Road. The portion is dangling dangerously over the road stretch from Panchsheel Square to Jhansi Rani Square, which was reopened for traffic some days ago.
The National Highway (NH) division of the state public works department (PWD) had executed the bridge work.On Friday, the other side of the road between Jhansi Rani Square and Panchsheel Square will be reopened for traffic.
A team of PWD’s World Bank division, which maintains the flyover, inspected the damaged portion on Thursday. As per Ashish Kurve, deputy engineer of PWD’s World Bank division, the flyover’s part could have been damaged by a Poclain machine during construction of the bridge. “However, the damaged part is unlikely to fall as it is still firmly attached with steel. We need at least two days for carrying out the repairs, but it can be done only in the night as there is traffic rush on the road during the day. We will straighten the damaged part and undertake grouting so that there is no issue,” said Kurve.
The bridge had caved in following the flash floods on September 23 last year. NH division of PWD constructed the bridge anew, for which both sides of the Wardha Road from Jhansi Rani Square to Panchsheel Square were closed for traffic. The deadline for the work had been extended more than once leading to cost escalation from Rs6 crore to ₹7.50 crore. Also, motorists had to bear with traffic diversions for months due to the road closure.
When TOI visited the spot on Thursday, local residents and shopkeepers expressed apprehension that the damaged part of the flyover could fall on motorists using the road below. “The repair work should be done soon. Officials and workers engaged for the bridge work should have been more careful as such mistakes can prove deadly,” said a motorist.
Prakash Thakre, deputy engineer of PWD’s NH division, said that they have launched an inquiry. “At this stage we cannot confirm damage was caused during construction of bridge, but we are questioning operators of vehicles that were deployed at the site. The PWD’s World Bank department would repair the damaged part of the flyover by Saturday,” said Thakre.