Rourkela, Dec. 22: National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) chief general manager Dharmananda Sarangi today said construction of the second bridge over river Brahmani in Rourkela would start in three months.
Sarangi, who took stock of the status of the bridge said that the tendering process had begun.
On April 1, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the second bridge over the river, a long-standing demand of the city.
All major political parties - the Congress, the BJP and the BJD - had indulged in a blame game for the delay in the work. Even local BJP MLA Dillip Ray had publicly expressed his displeasure over the delay and had even boycotted the party's programme organised to mark completion of two years of the NDA government. Subsequently, two central ministers who were to attend the event had cancelled their visit to the city.
Ray, who had been sulking, had also stayed away from the party president Amit Shah's visit to Bhubaneswar on November 25. On Wednesday, Ray said: "My soil (Rourkela) comes first and then the party."
He even threatened to take the issue to the streets and "fight for the right of Rourkela".
In an apparent bid to appease Ray, the NHAI official today met him and the local MP - Union tribal affairs minister Jual Oram - and briefed him about the progress of the project.
The old 65-year-old bridge over the river that links the city to the rest of Sundargarh was in news after cracks had appeared on it. Repair work was undertaken in two phases and the bridge was partially opened only last week.
Sarangi said: "The foundations, pillars and girders are in right shape now. There is no sign of any problem. The NHAI has drawn a contingency plan for the bridge in case of any problem. We will correct the problem within seven days of its occurrence."
