A patch of forestland close to the Kharkhai bridge site on Monday. (Animesh Sengupta)

Travel faster — and toll-free too — between Jamshedpur and Adityapur soon.

Decks have been cleared for construction of an approach road through forestland — a component project that has held up the Rs 15.5-crore second bridge over river Kharkai for more than a year.

The arterial link, which will allow both light and heavy vehicles from Bistupur to reach the industrial town in Seraikela-Kharsawan in 15 minutes flat, is likely to see light of the day by March 31, 2012.

Seraikela DFO A.T. Mishra said he received the Centre’s sanction (through state government) to use forestland on Monday. The application had been made in 2009. “The Union ministry of environment and forest has agreed to let us divert 0.8 hectare land in favour of the user agency (PWD road construction),” he said.

The DFO maintained that the PWD could now go ahead with construction of the approach road. The second bridge project calls for the sacrifice of more than 24 sal trees as well as about a dozen houses and a temple, which are situated on the patch of forestland in question. “The PWD will need to complete these formalities,” Mishra said.

A second bridge over Kharkai was planned for inauguration by April 2010 because the existing bridge is dilapidated. The deadline was stretched to December 31, 2011, after some technical problems surfaced. The same was extended to March 2012 after flash floods caused damage to the structure under construction.

Till the Adityapur toll bridge was opened in July, heavy vehicles had to take a 50km detour through Chowka and Chandil to reach the industrial area. The distance between Bistupur and Adityapur through the toll bridge is 7.5km and minimum travel time is 40 minutes. The second bridge will shrink this distance to 4km.

Executive engineer, PWD, Sanjay Kumar Singh said the news of forest clearance was heartening, but said he was yet to be officially intimated.