Decks cleared for fourth railway overbridge in Panipat

The work of the much-awaited railway over bridge (ROB) from the PWD rest house to Hali Lake in the Old Industrial Area of Panipat is likely to begin soon as the Haryana State Roads and Bridge Development Corporation (HSRDC) has got the requisite approval of the Northern Railway.

This would be the fourth ROB in the city and it would play a major role in reducing the traffic congestion of the Assandh road railway overbridge and at the red light on the NH-44.

The HSRDC would construct a 950-meter ROB, which would facilitate thousands of people living in five wards of the city.

To provide better connectivity to the city residents, especially those living in Wards 20 to 25, including the Old Industrial Area, adjoining colonies, Sector 6 and outer colonies, and to ease the traffic congestion on the Assandh road flyover, Panipat City MLA Pramod Vij had brought a special project for construction of the railway over bridge to connect Old Industrial area with the NH-44, crossing from the city during his first term.

The project was announced but it has remained on paper for the last four years. The work was not started due to some legal issues and pending approval from the Railways.

Some residents had even approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court after they got the notice from the Waqf Board to remove their houses. The decision went in favour of the Waqf Board on December 9. After that, the department removed three illegally constructed houses by launching a drive on Thursday and Friday.

The Haryana State Roads and Bridge Development Corporation (HSRDC) is set to construct the ROB.

Devender Kadyan, SDO, HSRDC, said that the main reason for not starting the work on this project was the pending approval of the Northern Railway. But, now it has got the green light from the railways. Apart from this, three houses, which became a hindrance in the construction of this ROB, have also been razed.

Soon, tenders would be invited for the ROB’s construction, he said.

The ROB would be 950 mlong and the estimated cost of this project was Rs 56 crore, he added. The total width of this ROB would be 8.5 meter while it would have 7.5 meter wide main carriageway, SDO Kadyan said.

It would be the fourth flyover in the city and would play a big role in decongesting traffic from Assandh road. The ROB would start 200 meter inside from the main NH-44 near the PWD rest house and would end near the Hali Lake, he added.