Jajpur: A part of a bridge on National Highway 16, connecting Chennai with Kolkata, sank near Rasulpur in Odisha’s Jajpur district, disrupting vehicular movement on Bhubaneswar-Balasore route on Tuesday morning.
According to sources, people nearby heard a loud sound around 6 am as one side of the bridge on the six-lane highway caved in by about 6-7 ft. “A span of the bridge started to sink after a bus en route to Bhubaneswar crossed the stretch. A big mishap was averted because of the alertness of a tractor drive and a home guard of Kuakhai police station as they stopped vehicles coming on the route,” said a police officer.
The home guard said that a vehicle with Andhra registration number also passed the bridge after the bus. “We then stopped a container truck and then other vehicles also halted. Locals also alerted the commuters taking the bridge,” he added.
On being informed, police arrived there and controlled vehicular movement on the NH between Panikoili and Chandikhole stretch. Hundreds of stranded vehicles were diverted to decongest the traffic on the stretch. The affected stretch has now been barricaded to avoid mishap and the vehicles are moving at a slow pace on the other side of the highway, an RTO official said.
Though the cause of the incident is yet to be ascertained, locals blamed use of low-quality material for sudden collapse of the 20- year-old bridge.
Later, a team of officials of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) inspected the bridge. NHAI project director (Chandikhole) JP Verma told TNIE that the bridge constructed in around 2008 could have collapsed due to structural failure.
“This a sudden failure. Maintenance is not an issue. A technical team has arrived at the spot to ascertain the reasons. A probe will be conducted and action will be taken as per findings. Vehicular movement on this side of the highway will remain suspended till a new bridge is constructed,” he added.
Local channels, quoting NHIA official, said that heavy loading could have led to the collapse and heavy-loaded vehicle might have gone undetected since there is no toll plaza between Panikoili and Chandikhol. The technical team will visit the spot on July 22-23 and the basis of its report, the restoration work will be taken up. Meanwhile, the traffic will be regulated on the available four lanes, the official added.