Jajpur: A portion of a bridge on National Highway-16 near Rasulpur block of Jajpur district was caved in on Tuesday. However, no one was hurt as there was no traffic on the bridge when the incident happened.
The bridge was constructed in 2008 on Kuakhia river on the national highway connecting Chennai and Kolkata. After hearing a loud noise, the locals rushed to the spot and first noticed the collapsed portion of the bridge and informed the police.
The collapsed portion of the bridge is around 10 feet in length. The officials have barricaded the affected stretch and diverted traffic movement.
After getting information, senior officials from National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) reached at the spot and initiated an investigation.
As per preliminary investigation, the portion of the bridge constructed in 2006-07 collapsed due to structural failure, said J.P. Verma, Project Director of NHAI.
An expert team has asked to reach at the spot to ascertain the reasons behind the failure. Action will be taken as per findings of the investigation, he said, adding, “We will find out a way to restore traffic on the bridge.”
Informing about the steps taken to normalize traffic on the stretch, RTO, Jajpur, Nilakantha Pradhan said, “People are facing traffic problems. We are now minimizing the load on the other side of the bridge.
If the other side of the bridge develops any damage, then the state’s movement will be cut off. So, at one end of the bridge, Chandikhol RTO is looking into it and we are taking care of this side of the bridge, he said.
“After passing a vehicle, the bridge suddenly collapsed. Fortunately, no one was hurt in the mishap. However, traffic movement was disrupted for some time,” said Sridhar Das, a local citizen, who was there when the bridge collapsed. He alleged that the bridge collapsed due to low quality of work done by NHAI contractor.
Meanwhile, Jajpur MP and Congress leaders inspected the bridge and blamed the NHAI for the incident.