4 crowded Ranchi stretches to get foot overbridges with escalators

RANCHI: If all goes well, a few notorious stretches in the capital, infamous for routine traffic jams, will soon host escalator-enabled foot overbridges for the ease of pedestrians.

Jharkhand Urban Infrastructure Development Company Limited (JUDICO), an arm of the state urban development department, on Wednesday said they have started to scout agencies for this work.

Ramesh Kumar, JUDICO’s project director (technical), said initially they are planning to set up escalator-fitted foot overbridges at four spots in the capital and based on its success and utility, it will be set up at more places. The four sites include Nucleus Mall, Kishoreganj Chowk, GEL Church Complex and Albert Ekka Chowk.

“Except Albert Ekka Chowk, all the three sites are currently under tendering process. Online bidding will open on October 10. Soon, we are also going to publish tender for the fourth site — Albert Ekka Chowk,” he said, adding that all these sites have been chosen because of heavy pedestrian flow.

“Besides heavy vehicular movement, there’s a huge footfall at these places because of their commercial importance. At times, pedestrians also face risk of being hit by vehicles. Hence, having foot overbridges will help in safe and smooth movement of pedestrians,” he said.

GEL Church Complex on Main Road already boasts a foot overbridge that was built over a decade ago but it is seldom being used by pedestrians. In the past, Ranchi Municipal Corporation had also announced to dismantle the structure but the plan was soon brushed under the carpet.

Another official of JUDICO said the failure of GEL Church complex foot overbridge is both due to poor civic sense among public as well as “unscientific” planning of the structure. “People find it tough to climb the stairs to the foot overbridge,” the official said.

On the proposed project cost of each structure, he said, “Tentatively, each project is estimated to cost Rs 4 crore but the final budget will be known only after tenders are finalised.”