Railway authorities have decided to construct two road over bridges (ROBs) on the highway to make travel hassle free for commuters on their way to Shimla.
The Himachal government has given its consent to the RoBs and two sites near Parwanoo and Solan have been selected for construction. Road over Bridge (RoB) is mostly constructed on railway tracks for vehicles to cross over without having to wait for a train to pass.
Currently, the Kalka-Shimla narrow gauge passes through the main highway and such passings are monitored by manually operated railway crossings.
Traffic flow is interrupted when a toy train passes through the road, which leads to huge traffic jam on the highway.
Sources in the railway division said, "The decision to construct two RoBs was taken a long time ago. Authorities were waiting for completion of the express highway near Parwanoo. Work has almost been completed and tenders will soon be invited for construction of RoBs."
Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Ambala, Dinesh Kumar said, "The RoBs will definitely provide convenience to commuters who travel through roads to Shimla. Whenever trains get late, commuters suffer inconveniences on the main highway."
Another senior railway official said two RoBs will save commuters' time. A high-level meeting with senior Himachal government officials and local railway officials from Ambala was recently held in Shimla in this regard.
In the railway budget 2016-17, authorities gave a green signal to another RoB to be constructed between Kalka-Pinjore on the old National Highway.
Box: Pending Issues
Although work on the proposed Chandigarh-Baddi railway track has been started, officials said some issues are still pending between the Himachal and Haryana government. Himachal has cleared its stand over the track but some formalities are pending on the part of the Haryana government.
Source: TNN
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