Patna: Road construction minister Kumar Shailendra on Wednesday directed officials to expedite the construction of rail overbridges (ROBs) across Bihar and resolve technical bottlenecks and pending railway approvals within a fixed timeframe.Reviewing ROB projects with East Central Railway (ECR) general manager Dimpy Garg and other railway officials at the road construction department headquarters, the minister stressed the need for closer coordination between state agencies and the railways to ensure timely completion of projects.Shailendra asked officials to increase manpower for preparing structural designs and drawings to reduce delays. He also proposed the creation of dedicated design wings in Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam Ltd (BRPNNL) and Bihar State Road Development Corporation Ltd (BSRDCL) to carry out preliminary scrutiny before designs are sent to the railways for approval.The state govt is currently constructing 58 ROBs, including 47 under the East Central Railway jurisdiction. It has set a target of completing 50 ROBs by June 2028.During the meeting, officials from the road construction department, BRPNNL and BSRDCL raised several pending issues related to railway clearances and project execution.Matters discussed included level-crossing diversions and Signal & Telecommunication (S&T) and Traction Distribution (TRD) shifting for ROB projects at Jivdhara-Bapudham, Motihari Court-Bapudham, Sugauli-Majhaulia, Darbhanga-Muhammadpur, Thalwara-Laheriasarai and Raghunathpur-Tudiganj.Officials also reviewed issues related to the Bakhtiyarpur Engineering College and Motipur-Mehwal ROBs, besides pending approvals for Quality Assurance Plans (QAP) and Welding Procedure Specification Sheets (WPSS) at Jaynagar station.For BSRDCL projects, discussions focused on works at Mohammadpur-Kamtaul and Laheriasarai-Darbhanga, along with train arrival and departure (TAD) and traffic block-related issues involving Patna Junction-Parsa Bazaar, Athmalgola-Bakhtiyarpur, NH-82, Badla Ghat-Dhamara Ghat, Koparia-Simri Bakhtiyarpur and Nandini Lagunia-Shahpur Patoree.Pending issues related to NHAI ROB projects, including traffic blocks, launching schemes, TAD permissions, QAP and WPSS approvals, bearing and structural designs, and General Arrangement Drawings (GADs), were also reviewed.Railway officials gave point-wise responses to the pending matters and assured state agencies of full cooperation. Shailendra directed all stakeholders to work in close coordination so that approvals and railway-related works do not delay projects and ROBs are completed on schedule while maintaining quality and safety standards.
