Nagpur: People living on the other side of the Nagpur-Wardha railway line will have to wait for some months before they smoothly reach Wardha Road. Even though the railway underbridge (RUB) at Manish Nagar is ready, MahaMetro will not open it until the nearby railway overbridge (ROB) and Wardha Road double decker flyover are ready.
MahaMetro managing director Brijesh Dixit said that it was not possible when the two structures would be ready as there was acute shortage of skilled labourers.
“The deadline for placing the girder atop the railway line in July end. However, we need 22 welders for the work. Right now, we have only five or six welders. This is a specialized job and people with such experience are not available locally. Such welders are mostly from Punjab. They had gone home due to the lockdown. They are returning gradually. So, we can give a timeframe for completion only after we have sufficient workforce,” said Dixit.
Brickfitters are also in short supply. They specialize in placing the rollers of the girders. “Had it not been for the lockdown, the three structures would have been opened for public weeks ago,” said Dixit.
The structures were to be built by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) but are being built by MahaMetro on the directions of Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari. NHAI is funding the project.
Dixit said that the cost of the RUB and ROB was Rs90 crore, but Metro would do the job in Rs82 crore. “In addition, we have saved Rs220 crore needed for acquiring 14 houses and a big open plot by using innovative design,” he added.
The length of the RUB is 600 metre. It’s two-lane and its width varies from 6.5m to 8m. Work on it had begun in 2017. The interior walls of the RUB have been embellished with colourful tiles, which gives the tunnel a unique look.
The length of the ROB is 850 m and that of the portion above the railway line is 60m. The length of the double decker flyover is 3.41km. It begins from near Ajni Square and ends near Hotel Pride.
MahaMetro managing director Brijesh Dixit said that it was not possible when the two structures would be ready as there was acute shortage of skilled labourers.
“The deadline for placing the girder atop the railway line in July end. However, we need 22 welders for the work. Right now, we have only five or six welders. This is a specialized job and people with such experience are not available locally. Such welders are mostly from Punjab. They had gone home due to the lockdown. They are returning gradually. So, we can give a timeframe for completion only after we have sufficient workforce,” said Dixit.
Brickfitters are also in short supply. They specialize in placing the rollers of the girders. “Had it not been for the lockdown, the three structures would have been opened for public weeks ago,” said Dixit.
The structures were to be built by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) but are being built by MahaMetro on the directions of Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari. NHAI is funding the project.
Dixit said that the cost of the RUB and ROB was Rs90 crore, but Metro would do the job in Rs82 crore. “In addition, we have saved Rs220 crore needed for acquiring 14 houses and a big open plot by using innovative design,” he added.
The length of the RUB is 600 metre. It’s two-lane and its width varies from 6.5m to 8m. Work on it had begun in 2017. The interior walls of the RUB have been embellished with colourful tiles, which gives the tunnel a unique look.
The length of the ROB is 850 m and that of the portion above the railway line is 60m. The length of the double decker flyover is 3.41km. It begins from near Ajni Square and ends near Hotel Pride.
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