Bhubaneswar, June 13: The public works department, along with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), has decided to reconstruct a railway over bridge (RoB) on National Highway-5 near Rasulgarh in an attempt to ensure smooth passage of vehicles and safety of commuters.

This portion of the highway has become rather clumsy after the construction and opening of Rasulgarh flyover. On one side of the road, it takes a downward slope while on the other part it is upward. This stretch opens to two-way traffic while the plan is to add a new lane to it.

"The Rasulgarh flyover begins with the railway over bridge from the Bhubaneswar end. We plan to construct a parallel road with reconstruction of the bridge. It will open three-way traffic - one towards the flyover and the other two as service lanes leading motorists to the Rasulgarh area," said chief engineer roads O.P. Patel.

NHAI will collaborate with the public works department since the property belongs to them. "We held a meeting with the highway authorities and discussed the plan. We have already finalised the tendering process and work will begin within a month or two after the final approval from NHAI in New Delhi," said Patel.

The officials plan to demolish the present structure to construct the new RoB. The length of the railway over bridge will be 1.7km. Sources said the railway over bridge would be re-constructed keeping in view another project of the works department to construct an underpass at the same place.

This stretch of the highway witnesses minor and major accidents every day. On January 31, a speeding truck coming from the Khurda end hit a bike early morning and a middle-aged woman died on the spot. Local residents said minor accidents were common on this part of the highway.

"This part of the highway is critical. No one cares about the speed limits, mainly the motorists coming from the flyover. Sometime ago, a speeding truck coming from the Khurda end rammed into the median. It is necessary to plan a solution to this problem," said Bidwan Mishra, a resident of VSS Nagar.