Ludhiana: Commuters hassled amid repairs at underbridge
Commuters claimed that even after the repair work, the situation remains dire due to the damaged road and non-functional streetlights
Locals and commuters were a harried lot as the Pakhowal Road railway underbridge was closed on Saturday for repairs on the damaged expansion joints.
The damage had been causing inconvenience to commuters for the past few months. Commuters claimed that even after the repair work, the situation remains dire due to the damaged road and non-functional streetlights. According to officials, the expansion joints of the underbridge had developed cracks and were causing vehicles to bounce significantly. On Saturday morning, the municipal corporation(MC) closed the underbridge temporarily but the repair was only partially done till the filing of this report late in the evening.
Commuters said the road is in poor condition and filled with potholes.
Rajinder Singh, a commuter, said, “The damaged road is causing long traffic jams every day and the authorities should repair it as soon as possible.”
Another commuter, Manpreet Kaur, said the area becomes ‘dangerous’ at after it turns dark.
“It feels unsafe for women to travel through the underbridge after sunset,” she said.
MC executive engineer Balwinder Singh said, “The underbridge will open for the public on Sunday. The expansion joint was damaged and we are going to repair the damaged road soon as well.”
The underbridge was inaugurated on the eve of Independence Day in 2023. However, it remained closed at night time for around two weeks after its inauguration as road layering work was not completed.
It was made using mastic asphalt, tipped to last for years, but the top layer began to wear down at a few points soon after it was thrown open to public.