Jharkhand dept gives nod for DPR of Jamshedpur-NH 33 bypass

Engineer-in-chief (EIC) of the Jharkhand road construction department, KK Lal, directed the department’s Central Design Organisation (CDO) on Saturday to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for the second Jamshedpur-NH 33 bypass, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.

“On Saturday, EIC KK Lal instructed the CDO to develop a DPR and design for the 4.500 km road and bridge over the Subarnarekha River, connecting the eastern part of the city directly with National Highway 33. This ambitious and commuter-friendly project aims to alleviate the heavy traffic congestion on Mango Bridge by redirecting commercial and passenger traffic from the eastern part of the city to NH 33,” said Saryu Roy, Jamshedpur (East) MLA, in a conversation with HT on Monday.

According to eye-witnesses, Mango Bridge witnessed heavy traffic rush on Monday for over three hours, with even ambulances trapped in the lengthy vehicle queues. Subsequently, the police managed to clear the congestion after significant efforts.

“I presented the design to the EIC and chief engineer Rakesh Kumar Srivastava, with executive engineer Deepak Sahay and assistant engineer Bam Prasad. The design received technical approval with a rough cost estimate of ₹233 crore in 2019. However, I expressed my dissatisfaction, stating that this estimate is impractical and cannot be accepted,” added Roy.

Roy attended a high-level meeting with officials from the road construction department at his office in the state assembly last Friday.

According to him, during Friday’s meeting, Lal said that a survey for the road segment from Litti Chowk in the Agrico area to NH 33, as well as the bridge over the Subarnarekha River, was conducted in November 2022 as per the orders of the then EIC. He has also issued an order to prepare a DPR based on this survey in the relevant file.

“The chief engineer of the CDO has been instructed and handed the order letter to initiate the DPR for the project. Subsequently, the cost estimate will be recalculated, and the tender will be released promptly following technical and administrative approvals. We anticipate commencing work on the project shortly,” said executive engineer Deepak Sahay.