Despite major challenges, Northeast Frontier Railway has successfully completed a bolstering infrastructure by commissioning a new Road Over Bridge (ROB) at Mangal Bazar area in Katihar of Bihar. This bridge is the longest Bow String Girder ROB of Katihar division with 72 m span. The newly constructed ROB was inaugurated by Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Shri Tarkishore Prasad in presence of Shri Dulal Chandra Goswami, Hon’ble MP (Lok Sabha) on 28th January, 2022.
This newly constructed ROB replaced the old and dilapidated ROB at Katihar (Mangal Bazar) which was constructed in 1964 and had outlived its life. It took 13.4 hours of engineering effort to launch it with minimal disruption to railway traffic. Due to its unique design and difficult location, this project was difficult to complete. The construction work of the two-lane ROB was started in the last month of 2019; but due to Corona pandemic the construction work of this bridge got interrupted. The construction work got speeded up again as soon as the outbreak of Corona subsided and could be dedicated to the general public at the earliest possible time.
With the commissioning of this bridge, smooth movement of both rail and road traffic on this route can be ensured. This bridge is also the lifeline of Katihar which connects East and West Katihar and connects the main market with different districts. This bridge can also be called the backbone of Katihar. So, not only the population of Katihar town but also the entire population of the Katihar district is going to benefit from this newly commissioned bridge.
This newly built infrastructure is capable of carrying load of heavy vehicles. The bridge has capacity to easily bear 12 ton / axle load and it has also been tested for bearing 20 ton / axle load. Made of steel material in arched shape, this bridge is one of the finest bow-string girder bridges of Indian Railways. The approach of both its sides is about 250 meters – 140 meters and its width is 12.5 meters.
