Govt okays new cable-stayed RoB at Ajni at Rs326.53 cr

Nagpur: The Maharashtra government has granted an in-principle approval to a new railway over bridge (RoB) at Ajni on Monday.
After a meeting with the officials, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis tweeted that colonial-era Ajni RoB, constructed in 1927, would be converted into a 220m long cable-stayed RoB. “This project is worth Rs326.53 crore. The new cable-stayed bridge will reduce the traffic jams in this area and also add to the city’s beauty,” he said, adding that he had directed the authorities to start the work immediately.
Earlier, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) on Monday had approached the government for administrative approval to replace the existing RoB with an eight-lane cable-stayed bridge and elliptical rotary junction.
After scrapping the Inter Model Station (IMS) project at Ajni, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had handed over the revised development project report of Ajni RoB to NMC. The civic body is seeking funds from the state government.
“The project is almost finalised and NMC has now submitted the revised development project report to the government,” NMC commissioner Radhakrishnan B told TOI.
Currently, due to its dilapidated condition, heavy vehicle traffic has been prohibited on the bridge and poles have been erected to enforce this.
The civic body has also approached Central Railway and the government health department, as it requires additional possession of 1.58-hectare land, which includes 10-metre-wide railway land. “We have requested both agencies to give no objection certificates for their lands,” he said. If this process is completed, NMC intends to start the work as soon as it gets government’s approval, the civic chief clarified.
NHAI had already submitted the structural audit report prepared by VNIT, and opinion of the railway department, about deterioration of the existing RoB structure and the need to replace it.
Apart from replacing the existing RoB, NHAI’s revised DPR also included improvement of traffic on its west side, which connects three roads — FCI Godown, Rahate Colony, and Ajni station.