Repeated damage to height barriers at the Sitabuldi flyover by heavy vehicles has prompted the Public Works Department’s (PWD) World Bank Unit to submit a proposal worth over Rs 50 lakh to the State Government for a permanent solution. Despite restrictions on heavy vehicles, trucks and other oversized vehicles continue to use the flyover, posing a serious safety risk and reducing the bridge’s lifespan. The PWD has proposed installing double height barriers at both entry points — near the Rahate Colony slope and the Morris T-point — to prevent heavy vehicles from accessing the flyover. The department had also planned to conduct a structural audit of the 25-year-old flyover through the Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT). However, the proposal was dropped after VNIT estimated the audit cost at around Rs 55 lakh, which officials considered too expensive. According to PWD officials, the new proposal includes not only the installation of height barriers but also parapet wall railings and road repairs on the flyover.

 

‘The Hitavada’ has consistently highlighted the issue, following which the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court took suo motu cognisance and admitted a petition on the matter. In one recent incident, a major mishap was narrowly avoided when a fuel tanker carrying over 25,000 litres of fuel rammed into a height barrier. When the flyover was commissioned, authorities had clearly prohibited heavy vehicles from using it, warning that such traffic would significantly reduce the structure’s life. However, private buses, heavy trucks, JCB machines and other large vehicles continue to violate the restriction. Traffic police have carried out enforcement drives and penalised violators, while speed monitoring using speed guns was also undertaken for some time.

 

However, officials admit that these measures have not effectively curbed speeding or illegal overtaking on the flyover. The prescribed 40 kmph speed limit and no-overtaking rule are often ignored. The PWD is now awaiting Government approval for the proposal. Until then, heavy vehicles are likely to continue using the flyover, raising concerns over commuter safety and the long-term structural health of one of Nagpur’s busiest flyovers.