Nagarjan Bridge Re-Opened in Nagaland; Only Light Vehicles Allowed To Ply

Guwahati: Good news for the people of Nagaland as the colonial-era bridge at Nagarjan, which was closed on October 14, is re-opened for single-lane traffic on Tuesday. This comes as a sigh of relief for the people of Dimapur city and commuters travelling through the British-era bridge.

It may be mentioned that the approach road to the Nagarjan beam bridge from Dimapur city side developed deep cracks when the concrete abutment protecting the filled roadside at the bridge base, gave way triggering subsidence and consequent cracks over the sunken road portion thus leading to the closure of the bridge on October 14. However, the bridge was re-opened on October 23. Keeping in mind that traffic was only going to increase from now on till the Christmas and New Year season, the bridge was reopened only for light motor vehicles. Only a single lane for vehicles would be allowed at a time.

In this regard, deputy commissioner (DC) Dimapur issued an order stating that in view of the partial restoration of the approach road to the bridge, only light vehicles would be allowed to ply.

The order reportedly stated that executive engineer (R&B) Dimapur would monitor and take precautionary measures daily and inform the DC as and when the closure of traffic was required. The DC reportedly also stated that traffic personnel would be deployed round the clock to regulate traffic.

As per sources, Executive Engineer (R&B) Talitemsu Jamir said that crack lines were reinforced and barricaded and caution stickers put in place.

He reportedly said that the bridge was re-opened out of necessity and for public convenience.

Jamir Talitemsu however, added few words of caution: “Accidents can happen even on good roads and bridges. Therefore, in case of any untoward eventuality as a result of the temporary connectivity provided on this British-era bridge that had outlived its lifespan, nobody should be held responsible.”

Meanwhile, Tali also said construction work on the new bridge that started in October 2017 was progressing well. Though the stipulated time for its completion was 18 months, he said the bridge might even be completed before the next monsoon season since the progress was good.

It needs to be mentioned here that earlier on October 14, Talitemsu and representatives of Dimapur district administration visited the site and decided to close the bridge for all traffic movement, in consultation with DC Dimapur Sushil Kumar Patel and police commissioner Limasunep Jamir, for commuter safety.