Flyovers at Vani Vihar and Acharya Vihar now open

Two of five flyovers in capital city Bhubaneswar, one at Vani Vihar and another at Acharya Vihar on National Highway-5, were thrown open to the public on Wednesday without much fanfare as the model code of conduct for polls remains in force.

Constructed for Rs 40 crore by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the two flyovers have a combined length of 1.8 km. The flyovers will also link the overbridge at Jayadev Vihar.

Though the flyover was constructed to ease traffic, it gave rise to snarl-ups near connecting roads in front of Satsang Vihar and Acharya Vihar.

Soon after the flyover was thrown open to public, NHAI drew flak for ‘faulty design and bad road engineering’. Commuters travelling on the flyover were shocked to find no way to take diversion either near OCAC office or Satsang Vihar as both the connecting points are blocked, forcing them to take lengthy roundabouts.

“The seven flyovers in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack along with the bridges over Mahanadi, Kathjodi, Kuakhai and Birupa rivers will effect seamless highway connectivity, drastically reducing commuting time within the Twin city and onwards. They will absorb the building vehicular pressure on Cuttack-Bhubaneswar stretch,” said Project Director, NHAI, Anil Dixit.

According to SJEPL sources, the flyovers have been completed well before the deadline of 2014-end by use of modern pre-cast concrete segmental casting technology, in which the concrete segments are built off-site and brought to the site for joining.

The flyovers have been laced with modern street lighting systems, sources said.