End to traffic snarls on Niralanagar-Aliganj route

LUCKNOW: Commuters will get rid of traffic snarls between Niralanagar and Aliganj with the opening of a Railway-Over-Bridge (ROB), connecting the two areas, this week. Though the ROB got delayed, the UP State Bridge Corporation (UPSBC) has finally decided to open it.
"The work is almost complete and we will open it within next two or three days," said UPSBC general manager, Lucknow, N Ram.The 750 metres long and 7.5 metres wide ROB has been constructed jointly by UPSBC and railways. The part of it above the railway line has been built by railways while the rest of it has been constructed by UPSBC. The ROB will provide a two-lane link between Niralanagar and Aliganj.
The ROB will ease traffic congestion from crossing number 8 in Niralanagar upto Purania crossing in Aliganj ROBs are built to reduce traffic congestion due to railway crossings. The road-users can move through ROBs while trains pass through the railway tracks below. "It does away with safety hazards for railways," said Ashok Kumar Singh, DRM, Lucknow, NER.
Once the ROB opens, railways will shut the level crossing at Niralanagar. "Though people are protesting against this and want the crossing to remain open, we will close it down," said Singh. Railways has also got permission from the district administration for closing down the crossing.
The need for this ROB was felt due to increase in traffic density at the railway crossing. The rail crossings are updated from unmanned to manned and inter-locked depending on Traffic Vehicle Unit (TVU), which is the number of vehicles passing through a crossing in a day.
To arrive at a TVU, railways conduct a three-day census every year. If more than a lakh vehicles pass through a crossing in a day, it makes a relevant case for closing the crossing and constructing a ROB over it.
The Niralanagar-Aliganj ROB was sanctioned in 2008 and was to be completed in 2009. But the project got delayed by two years. UPSBC officials blame the railways for the delay.
Railway officials did not refute the charge. It took time to get the contractor to construct the part of the ROB on railway line and the approach road, they said.