Raipur’s most-awaited infrastructure project has finally turned the corner. The Railway Over Bridge (RoB) at Kachna-Khamardih crossing, which has tested the patience of over 30,000 daily commuters for years, is now 96 per cent complete with a firm June 30 deadline for public opening, following the successful launching of its composite steel girder, the most critical and technically demanding phase of the entire project. Arun Sao, Deputy Chief Minister holding the PWD portfolio, visited the site along with senior officials to review progress and expressed confidence that the bridge would be thrown open very soon. Describing it as a vital link in the State Government’s efforts to strengthen traffic infrastructure in the capital, he said, “The people’s long wait is certainly now coming to an end.” Talking to The Hitavada, Avadhesh Kumar Trivedi, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager (Sr DCM), SECR Raipur Division, said the girder launch was executed using two road cranes of 450 MT capacity each, one operational and one on standby, completed across two traffic blocks of two hours each, ensuring zero disruption to the 23 daily train movements on this busy Raipur-Visakhapatnam corridor. Senior Railway officials including the Senior Section Engineer (SSE), Assistant Divisional Engineer (ADEN), and Divisional Engineer (DIEN) were present on site throughout the operation, he added. Elaborating on the structure’s specifications, Trivedi said the RoB stretches approximately 911 metres in total length including 400-metre approach roads on either side, carries an overall width of 13.5 metres with a 10.5-metre carriageway, and spans two active railway tracks across three bays of 36 metres each.

 

The bridge employs composite steel girders conforming to Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) specification 11775/R1, with each girder weighing 27 MT and the total girder assembly tipping the scales at 176.2 MT. Height clearance above track level stands at 7.2 metres and the bridge is built to bear a load capacity of 385 tonnes as per IRC 6-2017 norms. Provision for one future track has already been incorporated, reflecting forward-looking planning, he noted. What made the girder launch particularly significant, Trivedi explained, was a special anti-toppling safety arrangement devised for securing the girder over the pier, necessitated by the single-girder methodology adopted at the site owing to space constraints. SECR Headquarters clearance was obtained only after exhaustive safety review of the scheme submitted by the contractor. “Safety is paramount to us,” he asserted, adding that the meticulous orchestration of crane positioning and block scheduling ensured not a single one of the 23 daily train movements faced any safety compromise. While the project missed its original contractual deadline, Trivedi maintained that SECR’s rigorous insistence on RDSO and safety norms has delivered a structurally superior and future-ready bridge. “The requirement of Railway from a safety standpoint is now better understood, and that knowledge will benefit future projects too,” he said, affirming that SECR will continue to monitor the project closely through to its final handover and public opening.

 

The Kachna-Khamardih RoB, when opened, will permanently eliminate one of Raipur’s most congested level crossings on the busy Raipur-Visakhapatnam route. For 30,000 daily commuters who have endured years of snarls, dust, and delays, that date cannot come soon enough.