MRIDC Update: 6 out of 30 Road over Bridges (ROBs) commissioned in the Vidarbha region

Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (MRIDC) also known as Maha Rail is implementing Rail line and Road infrastructure development projects across the state. The corporation was established with a vision to meet the growing demands for new projects and to expedite ongoing infra projects in the State of Maharashtra.

More Details:

• Nagpur is the second capital of Maharashtra and third largest city in Maharashtra and according to an Oxford’s Economics report, Nagpur is projected to be one of the fastest growing cities in the world from 2019 to 2035 with an average growth of 8.41%.
• Nagpur region has a dense Railway network, the Nagpur Station is saturated as the city grows in terms of business, education, industry, manufacturing and research. To fulfil the transportation needs of one of the fastest growing cities, MahaRail is implementing new infrastructure projects in the Nagpur and Vidarbha region.
• To ease traffic congestion at various level crossings (LCs) across state and in view of making state “Railway Fatak Free” Public Work Department (PWD) of Government of Maharashtra and Ministry of Railway has entrusted MahaRail to construct 100 Road Over Bridges (ROBs) / Road Under Bridges (RUBs). MahaRail has completed construction of 6 ROBs in Nagpur district and are now ready to be commissioned.
• The inauguration of these newly constructed 6 Roads over Bridges (ROBs) and Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony of Ajni Twin Cable Stayed Over Bridge along with 5 new ROBs in Vidarbha region under Setu Bandhan Scheme is schedule on Saturday, 15th April 2023 at 08:30 am at Ajni in Nagpur.
• The ceremony is being performed at the august hands of the Chief Guest Hon’ Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India, Shri Nitin Gadkari. The Ceremony will be presided by Hon. Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Eknath Shinde. The ceremony is held under the gracious presence of Hon. Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Guardian Minister of Nagpur District, Shri Devendra Fadnavis.
• The Guests of Honour of the function are Hon. PWD Minister, Shri Ravindra Chavan, Hon. MP Shri Krupal Tumane, Hon. Members of Legislative Council, Members of Legislative Assembly, along with other dignitaries and officials from Nagpur Municipal Corporation, Collector, Railways, Public Works Department, Police Department and MahaRail etc.

Inauguration of 6 ROBs at Nagpur by MRIDC:

Bhoomi Poojan of Ajni ROB, Bhoomi Poojan of 05 ROBs in Vidarbha region under Setu Bandhan Scheme:

Features of ROB constructed by MahaRail:

Cable Duct Provision:

• Usually, we see that the cables of electricity, telephone, internet etc. are spread randomly on the bridges, which can cause fatal accidents and also spoil the beauty of the bridge.

• Keeping this in mind, MahaRail has made provision for Unique Dedicated Stainless Steel Cable Ducts that will secure all cables within the bridge crash barrier. This special cable duct is being used by MahaRail in all its Road Over Bridges. 

Decorative Arch and Theme Lighting:

• Decorative Arch’ is being used to illuminate all the Road Over Bridges constructed by MahaRail, in which coloured LED lighting has been installed. Apart from this, remotely controlled architectural LED theme lighting is also being used on Cable Stayed Road Over Bridges of Mumbai and Nagpur constructed by MahaRail.
• In order to reduce the expenditure on lighting on these bridges in future (Energy Consumption), MahaRail is also planning conventional solar energy for each bridge.

Four Coat Epoxy Paint system:

• MRIDC is using Integrated Four Coat Epoxy Paint system developed by Central Electro Chemical Research Institute (CECRI) at all Exposed concrete surfaces of ROBs and has developed identical design Pattern and logo for all ROBs in Maharashtra.

• The ceremony will be followed by the commencement of ‘Track Laying and Linking’ on Itwari – Nagbhir Gauge Conversion Project by New Track Construction (NTC) Machine. The Gauge Conversion work of Nagpur (Itwari) – Nagbhir Railway line is in advance stage and MahaRail will is starting the Track laying for this Railway Line, the work of track Laying will be done using advance technology i.e. New Track Construction (NTC) Machine, which will establish another milestone.
• There are only 4 NTC machines available all over India, MahaRail is the only organisation in Maharashtra that is using one of them.

On the occasion of the ceremony, Shri Rajesh Kumar Jaiswal, Managing Director of MahaRail said that “MahaRail is implementing state-of-art Rail infrastructure in Maharashtra. This is a proud moment for us as we are inaugurating six Road Over Bridges in Nagpur district and laying the foundation stone for the Ajni Bridge along with five other Road Over Bridges. In Vidarbha, more than 30 bridges are being constructed, of which 6 are being inaugurated.

In Nagpur the old British era Anji bridge will be replaced by 6 lane Twin Cable Stayed Over Bridge which will ease the traffic congestion in the area. The bridge will be constructed in two phases, In the first phase, the construction of a three-lane twin cable-stayed bridge will be completed without disrupting the existing traffic movement. Once the first phase is completed, the traffic will be diverted to the new cable-stayed road over bridge and the existing bridge will be demolished to construct another three-lane cable-stayed bridge. The bridge will be illuminated with colourful LED lights and also have selfie points, this not only adds to the beauty of the city but also will be an attraction for tourists.

I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the Ministry of Railways, PWD, MORTH, MCGM, and MMRDA, all of whom have given MahaRail various projects. The construction work of all the bridges is being done under the guidelines of Railways, PWD and MORTH.

These bridges will help to reduce the traffic congestion in the area and make the commutes of people living in the area much easier. It will also help in improving the overall economic development of the region.”

About MRIDC:

• Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (MRIDC) is a Joint Venture of “Government of Maharashtra” and “Ministry of Railways” on a 50:50 basis with an objective to provide a boost to the Rail Infrastructure Projects in the State of Maharashtra by providing critical connectivity and capacity enhancement.
• The aim of setting up this Joint Venture Govt. Corporation is to provide a boost to the Rail Infrastructure Projects in the Maharashtra State on the principle of cooperative federalism.
• With a vision, to eliminate the Level Crossings (LC), MRIDC has started implementation of construction of about 100 Road Over Bridges (ROBs) / Road Under Bridges (RUBs) across Maharashtra, funded by Railway, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH), Public Works Department (PWD), Municipal Corporations, Mumbai Metropolitan Region= Development Authority (MMRDA).
• To embark on the journey in Rail Line projects, MahaRail has started the implementation of the Gauge Conversion project between Nagpur (ltwari) and Nagbhid (116 Km). The main aim of this project is to expedite the coal movement from the coal mines and reduce congestion on the existing route.
• Other new Railway Line projects are also in pipeline are Ahmednagar–Vaijanath (New BG Line), Wardha – Yavatmal – Nanded (New BG Line), Wadasa – Gadchiroli (New BG Line), Pune – Nashik (New BG Line), Manmad – Indore (New BG Line), Gadchandur – Adilabad (New BG Line), Baramati – Lonand (New BG Line), Kolhapur – Vaibhavwadi (New BG Line) etc.

Source: MRIDC- Press Release | Images Credit: MRIDC