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Ludhiana MC set to miss Jagraon Bridge’s Sept 15 deadline too
Civic body officials blame the weather conditions for the delay
The Ludhiana municipal corporation, which was slated to complete the Jagraon Bridge by September 15, is likely to overshoot another deadline due to unfavourable weather conditions.
The MC on Saturday had asked the railways to take over the construction of the damaged bridge after putting up a retaining wall. Engineer Gurdeep Singh said, “The MC handed over the work to the railways on Saturday. They will start laying approach slabs in a couple of days.”
Once the railways are done installing approach slabs, the MC will start working on laying down a road on the bridge. The slabs will need a curing period of around 10-12 days. Since the railways will complete the assignment till September 15, the MC is sure to miss the deadline.
Moreover, MC officials say constructing a road in the monsoon season is not viable.
STRING OF MISSED DEADLINES
Railway authorities had closed one side of the flyover in July 2016 due to safety concerns. The project stayed in a limbo for two years as the department refused to pool money for the project. It was only after the Ludhiana MC handed the railways ₹24.3 crore did construction finally begin in 2018. The initial deadline was June 30, 2019 but it was extended to December 2019.
The MC took over the project in December and fixed March 2020 as the deadline. However, the project was pushed to June due the lockdown imposed to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The June deadline was yet again unfruitfully pushed to August 15 and extended to September 15. However, it is very likely that the civic body will have to set a fresh deadline yet again.
