Kalimpong-BRO promises to fast-track highway repair

Kalimpong, Aug. 31: Permanent work on potholed stretches of NH31A damaged in the rains will start this weekend and a smooth ride is expected by the end of September, the Border Roads Organisation has said.

Officials of the BRO said they would also speed up the widening work on the highway that is already going on.

A source in the BRO, which maintains the road linking Siliguri to Kalimpong and Gangtok, said there are plans to create three diversions on NH31A so that vehicles can avoid stretches that are prone to landslides and sink zones and populated areas.

“We will construct a 490 metre-long viaduct near Lohapool,” said the source. Once the bridge is built, vehicles can avoid the Lohapool village, a congested area that is prone to sinking.

The viaduct and a proposal to construct a new road from Reang to Ravi Jhora are awaiting clearance from the union ministry of forest and environment, officials said.

“The Reang-Ravi Jhora diversion will be about 16-18km long and it would be on a higher but (a more) stable gradient. Which means the distance between the two points will increase by about 10km since the length of the existing alignment is 8km,” said the source.

Although the route will be longer, but the new stretch will avoid the two major landslide-prone zones at 27 Mile and Likhubhir.

Officials said vehicles would also ply the existing stretch after the new road is constructed.

“There is also a proposal for a 1.4km diversion to avoid the narrow stretch at Melli Bazar, which is a very busy area,” the BRO official added.

Sources said all craters along the highway will be filled up in about three weeks.

“We will fill up all the potholes along the highway between Teesta and Rangpo from September 3 to 10 and cover the stretch between the Coronation bridge and Teesta from September 10 to 20,” said the source.

The BRO had taken up patchwork in many parts of the highway during the monsoons.

But no major repair started during the rainy season.

“Once the potholes are filled up, dense bitumen macadam (blacktopping) work will be carried out on the Reang-Teesta stretch sometime in October. The work will be undertaken by a private firm to whom we have outsourced the job,” said the source.

The BRO has already started widening the highway to ensure two-way movement of vehicles throughout the stretch that runs from the Coronation Bridge to Gangtok.

“We have started road widening work at three-four points on the highway. The work will have to be carried out at 13 different places totalling about a 3-3.5km (stretch),” said the source.

Most of the places where such work would be carried out are between Melli and Rangpo.

“We have already sounded the police on the road widening work and have sought their help in managing the traffic as and when required. While widening the road, some traffic disruption will take place and it is always wise to put a plan in place to regulate vehicles,” said the source.

-TT