The commuters using National Highway-16 in the Baleswar district jurisdiction are facing a tough time due to the snail’s pace of work of widening the road from four lane to six.
The works have been going on for months and are causing serious inconveniences to the passengers. Due to the construction works, one side of the road lays closed. As a result, hundreds of passenger buses, trucks and lorries are plying on the two lane which is not only consuming travel time but also causing accidents near the diversions.
The NH -16 from Chennai to Kolkata (over 1,700 km) is undertaken for six laning and the works are under progress at different patches. From Soro to Baleswar, in about 35 km at least five diversions have been made, allowing use of only one side of the road. These diversions are causing serious inconveniences for the vehicles mainly to the large containers. Due to one side plying, the passengers are encountering jams and at times accidents.
It may be noted in the period from January to December 2021, while 430 road accidents were reported, about 80 per cent of the cases were reported on the NH. The bikers as well as lorry drivers are not only facing difficulties in the patch between Soro and Baleswar (NH-16), similar difficulties are encountered by them on the stretch between Baleswar and Laxmannath road (NH-60). At several places, the road surfaces are either cracked or damaged yet they are not repaired and maintained from time to time. These difficulties are causing road accidents too.