Patna: March deadline for AIIMS-Digha highway

PATNA: Vehicular movement on the much-awaited Digha-AIIMS elevated highway is likely to begin from March this year. One lane of the 11.9km road will, however, become operational from February, said Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, managing director of Bihar State Road Development Corporation Limited (BSRDCL), the executing agency of the project.
While the first 2km of the road starting from AIIMS-Patna is a two-lane semi-elevated road, the remaining stretch is elevated four-lane road.
The road, which will connect J P Setu in Digha, will not just reduce travelling time but also act as connectivity for people going to Sonepur from Phulwarisharif or AIIMS in southern parts of the city.
“After the construction of the elevated road, vehicles coming from north Bihar will have a hassle-free journey,” a BSRDCL official said.
The ambitious project, which entails an expenditure of Rs 1,231.06 crore, was initially targeted to be completed by March 2018. Chief minister Nitish Kumar had launched the project in November 2013. A BSRDCL official said the delay was due to financial problems faced by the agency responsible for the construction of Digha-AIIMS elevated road.
Sanjay Kumar, chief general manager of BSRDCL said more than 97% of the construction work was complete. “The remaining 3% work will be completed as soon as Gammon India, the firm responsible for construction work, resolves its financial issues. The process will not take more than two months,” he said.
Meanwhile, BSRDCL officials also said that construction of a railway overbridge (ROB) at Khagaul was another cause for the delay. “We have got the no-objection certificate from the railways for the construction of ROB on the eastern side of existing ROB at Khagaul. Train movement on the tracks may be affected during the construction period,” said BSRDCL MD Agarwal.
Meanwhile, a 12.27km-long two-lane road has been constructed underneath the Digha-AIIMS elevated road along the Digha-Danapur canal. The road serves as connectivity for people coming from Phulwarisharif or AIIMS and going to Digha.