Bathinda-Dabwali RoB to open soon

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, August 18

The railway overbridge on the Bathinda-Dabwali road will open to the public in next two-three days. Work on the overbridge has been complete and a trial run has also been conducted.

Earlier, the overbridge was opened for the trial run and on Friday, it was closed again, leading to a traffic jam in front of Ganpati Township.

Commuters were unaware that the overbridge had been closed again. They took the route to reach the Dabwali road. The commuters faced a tough time as they had to turn back and go towards the Badal road to reach the Dabwali road.

Deputy Commissioner Praneet said, “The overbridge has been closed. Earlier, it was opened for the trial run. Now within 2-3 days, it will be opened to the public.”

With the opening of the overbridge, commuters will get relief from traffic jams caused due to the passage of trains.

An amount of Rs37 crore has been spent on the construction of the overbridge while Rs33 crore has been spent on shifting electricity poles and taking care of trees, which were axed for the construction of slip roads and the overbridge.

The foundation stone of the overbridge was laid by former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal in September 2016 as part of a slew of projects, which were announced by the previous SAD-BJP government just before the Assembly poll.

The work on this project was started in the first week of October in 2016. The work had slowed down a bit last year after the NGT announced a blanket ban on the axing of trees.

Commuters face problems due to jams

• Earlier, the overbridge was opened for trial run and on Friday, it was closed again, leading to a traffic jam in front of Ganpati Township. 
• Commuters were unaware that the overbridge had been closed again. They took the route to reach the Dabwali road. The commuters faced a tough time as they had to turn back and go towards the Badal road to reach the Dabwali road.