The long wait of the people for hassle-free transportation of heavy vehicles will be over as State Chief Minister Raghubar Das will inaugurate the ambitious four-lane Marine Drive Western Corridor project, on Saturday evening.The Chief Minister along with Tata Steel MD T V Narendran and State Civil and Food Supplies Minister Saryu Roy will inaugurate the project. Evergreen plants and palm trees will also be planted on vacant spaces alongside the Marine Drive road by the guests.
Tata Steel, whose logistics department spearheaded construction and beautification of the project worth ' Rs120-crore, has been able to remove the illegal huts by promising relocation at some other spot and has also completed construction of service lane on nearly five kilometers thereby paving way the inauguration of the 11 km long artery.Construction of the service lane along the picturesque stretch by Subernarekha river has completed. Encroachments on Kadma side held up work, had caused the project to miss several deadlines.
The project worth Rs120-crore passing along Subernarekha river linking Sakchi-Kadma-Sonari to Adityapur Toll bridge was scheduled to end by June 2014 but after talks with the slum dwellers the work got a boost in September 2014 but a stretch of 50 meters along Sati Ghat with nearly 25-odd families refusing to relocate from their settlement had put a hurdle for the Tata Steel's logistic department earlier deadline of November end 2014.
Marine Drive Western Corridor project, links Sakchi-Kadma-Sonari with Adityapur toll bridge and was conceived to keep heavy vehicles off city roads, thus getting rid of traffic snarls in Jamshedpur. Construction on the project started in June 2012 and was scheduled to end by June 2014.It must be mentioned that in view of the expansion plans of Tata Steel and other Tata Group companies in Jamshedpur, Tata Steel limited had engaged reputed Consultant M/s l & T Rambole and M/s Consulting Engineering Services of Delhi to do a transport study of Jamshedpur."The marine drive connecting Adityapur Toll Bridge at the Kadma end and the approach road on the Kadma end to the toll-bridge constitutes the marine drive project. The project will be inaugurated tomorrow," said the officer on condition of anonymity.
Notably, a motorable marine drive from Kadma connecting to Mango bridge was set up in 2006 with the work lying pending at several stretches of the marine drive due to encroachment hurdle. But after Adityapur toll bridge became operational in July 2011, leading to the plying of heavy vehicles on the marine drive, the condition of the marine drive deteriorated fast.
As a result of which the Tata Steel prompted to initiate step for reconstructing of a four-lane marine drive.