Ghaziabad, Jan 2 (IANS) The Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) Saturday opened the much awaited Rajapur-Diamond Palace Railway Over Bridge (ROB) that is expected to provide relief to motorists entering the city.
The bridge has been constructed on the New Delhi-Lucknow railway line and connects prominent colonies of Ghaziabad with Delhi and Noida.

The ROB would smoothen the flow of traffic on this stretch that was once one of the biggest bottlenecks of the city. Vehicles coming from Noida and Delhi on National Highway 24 can now easily enter areas like Raj Nagar, Kavi Nagar, Nehru Nagar, Gandhi Nagar and Shastri Nagar via this bridge.

This would save people’s time by as much as 30 minutes as they won’t have to travel all the way from Delhi to Mohan Nagar and then on the congested G.T. Road.

The Uttar Pradesh State Bridge Corporation (UPSBC) took three years to construct the 200 metre long, four-lane ROB. The cost of the project, initially estimated at Rs.12 crore, escalated to Rs.16 crore.

“The project took slightly longer than the stipulated time of two-and-a-half years as the railways took considerable time to erect the central girder portion. The bridge was also delayed due to the Kavi Nagar Industrial Area Association, which protested that the bridge would affect the entry of container vehicles into their compounds,” a GDA official said.

“Based on their recommendations, we had to realign the project in a manner that could allow easy passage to trucks and container trolleys,” the official added.