Bridge collapse on NH-45 near Jbp cripples traffic

Jabalpur: Traffic on NH-45 came to a standstill near Shahpura in Jabalpur on Sunday after a portion of an under-construction overbridge above the railway line collapsed around 4 pm. No casualties were reported, but the incident triggered massive traffic jams and raised fresh questions over construction quality, as another section of the same bridge caved in a few days ago. With the Shahpura–Bhopal road blocked, traffic was diverted through Patan and alternative rural routes, leading to long snarls across the region. The toll plaza management said vehicles were allowed to pass without charging toll fees to ease congestion. Locals alleged corruption and poor-quality work, pointing out that one side of the overbridge sank during the monsoon nearly 3 months ago, forcing authorities to impose a one-way system. On Sunday, the adjoining portion also collapsed. Videos of the collapse and public anger surfaced on social media soon after. Resident Jitendra Singh said the bridge section that gave way had soil filling underneath and could not withstand the increased load due to one-way traffic. "This clearly shows the project lacked the required strength," he alleged.Shahpura SHO Praveen Dhurve said traffic on the Jabalpur–Bhopal road was diverted as bridge construction work was underway and heavy vehicles were rerouted. SDM Madan Singh Raghuvanshi said the bridge collapsed due to technical reasons, which engineers were currently examining.