Bhubaneswar, Aug. 2: The construction of two foot overbridges began today at Master Canteen Square and Jayadev Vihar here.

Both overbridges will have staircases and elevators at both ends for the convenience of older people and children.

Though work on the projects began two years after the respective foundation stones were laid in August 2011, the private agency carrying out the construction said that the bridges would be complete by the end of this year.

“We will try to finish construction of both these overbridges by December. Work on both the bridges will be taken up simultaneously,” said an officer of the construction firm, Ajanta Badri-Vishal Media Initiative.

Earlier, the firm had decided to start construction of the overbridge at Jayadev Vihar first, followed by the bridge at Master Canteen Square. After the foundation stones were laid, a proposal was floated in November 2011. The tender was finalised after around eight months. The private agency chosen for the construction signed the agreement for the project with the civic body in October last year. However, land acquisition problems delayed the project by two years.

Now, the over bridge at Master Canteen Square will be constructed at a location 100 metres away from the original plan, as traders at the busy Square opposed it. Similarly, the civic authority had initially laid the foundation stone for the overbridge near the Jayadev Vihar flyover with one end at a place where local autorickshaw drivers parked their vehicles. But the site was later relocated to a spot a few metres away because of land acquisition problems.

Officials said the foundation stones were laid in a hurry without consulting the traffic police and the general administration department about the availability of land at the respective sites.

Mayor Anant Narayan Jena inaugurated the construction work of the overbridges today — first near Master Canteen Square and then at Jayadev Vihar.

He said: “These foot over bridges will have modern facilities such as elevators for people with disabilities and elderly persons. Such foot over bridges are very important for metros and growing cities where vehicular traffic rises by the day putting the safety of pedestrians at risk. I am proud that Bhubaneswar is about to join the list of such cities.”

He added that more such over bridges would be constructed at other busy crossings in the city soon.

Jayadev Vihar Square is a busy crossing that pedestrians find difficult to cross. The Nandankanan-Airport road is always chock-a-block with vehicles. The area also has a large number of educational institutes, hotels and corporate houses.

Manish Agarwal, an official of the private firm, said the overbridges would have staircases on both sides and skywalk of around 35 metres that would span across the roads.

“On both sides there will be elevators with a carrying capacity of 13 people at a time. There would be other utilities, too, such as information maps and signage, clean footpaths, proper barricading, drinking water facilities and dustbins,” said Agarwal.

The structural design was sent to National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, which approved it.

The private agency will carry out the maintenance work and collect revenue from advertisement space. The civic body would get Rs 5.3 lakh a year from this firm.

The overbridges have got mixed responses from people. While some were happy saying they would help a lot, others criticised the locations chosen for the bridges.

Ranita Mohapatra, a resident of Unit-III, who regularly has to cross busy roads to take an autorickshaw to her work place at Sishu Bhavan Square, said the overbridges would help people like her who always fear being hit by speeding vehicles. “The authorities must work fast to finish the work,” Mohapatra said.

However, Sudhanshu Sahu, a government employee, did not sound upbeat. He said: “Many people will not walk 100 metres to cross the road and travel the same distance back to Master Canteen Square to take an auto or to approach the railway station. The authorities could have made use of a lot of free space available on both sides of the Square.”