Cuttack, April 26: Commuters are at the receiving end owing to the rampant construction work going on for the expansion of the National Highway No. 5.

The ever-busy highway connects the twin cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.

The situation is worsening with every passing day, particularly at the Press Chhak owing to the closure of the underpass near the Manimandir crossing. All the vehicles coming from Khannagar side via the Ring Road are now converging at the Press Chhak on their way to Bhubaneswar.

"There is a heavy flow of traffic due to the temporary diversion. We are facing problems in switching ends from Press Chhak owing to a temporary traffic signal at the partic77ular spot," said Sudharkar Pradhan, a commuter.

Pradhan said due to the acute congestion on Badambadi-Link Road, commuters were opting for the Ring Road to travel towards the NH-5 on their way to Bhubaneswar.

Though traffic officials have set up a temporary manual traffic post to streamline vehicular traffic at the Press Chhak, it has failed to resolve the problem.

"A delegation of the executing agency will soon meet the district collector to discuss the issue of non-availability of sand which has resulted in the slow pace of construction work," said P.K. Dalai, assistant commissioner of police (traffic).