Nagpur: Months after waiting for approval from the railways, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) finally received the much-awaited railway traffic block to execute the last major pending work on the ₹998 crore Indora-Dighori Flyover project. With halt in train traffic, NHAI successfully launched the open web girder over Level Crossing (LC) 570 late on Thursday late night, marking a significant step in one of the city’s largest infrastructure projects.Despite crossing this crucial hurdle, the project is unlikely to meet the August 1 deadline announced by Union minister Nitin Gadkari recently. Officials now estimate that the flyovers may not be ready for traffic before mid-August, with ongoing rains posing an additional challenge.Speaking to TOI, a senior NHAI official said the railway block enabled the authority to complete the most critical portion of the project. “We have launched the open web girder over the level crossing but still need three to four more two-hour blocks from railways as some other works, including removing the support, and concretisation, are still pending. We think that the work would take around 10 days after that concretisation would be done,” the official said.According to NHAI estimates, the flyover is unlikely to be opened before August 15, and the timeline could be pushed further if heavy rains batter the city. Work on the up and down ramps near Daga Hospital is also pending and has already been affected by rainfall. NHAI is attempting to complete these works simultaneously, though officials admitted they could take longer than anticipated.The Indora-Dighori Flyover project is among the most complex urban infrastructure works being executed in Nagpur because of its alignment through densely populated and highly congested areas. It comprises two flyovers — the first connecting Kamal Square with Reshimbagh Square and the second linking Bhande Plot Square with Dighori Naka — while retaining and integrating the existing Sakkardara Flyover into the design.The first flyover, stretching nearly 4km, begins ahead of Kamal Square, and passes over Golibar Square, Lal Imli Square, Agrasen Square, Gandhi Gate, and Ashok Square. The works also involved demolition and reconstruction of the old Pachpaoli Flyover before landing just ahead of the existing Sakkardara Flyover. The second elevated corridor, around 2.2km long, starts after the Sakkardara Flyover, lands at Bhande Plot Square and extends beyond Dighori Naka on the busy Umred Road.Earlier, NHAI had completed the installation of a 30-metre conventional steel girder over Level Crossing 572. With the open web girder at LC 570 now in place, only the associated structural works remain. Once the elevated corridor is commissioned, NHAI will construct underpasses at both railway crossings, eliminating delays at railway gates and significantly improving traffic flow.
