VASCO
Traffic movement near Tanya Hotel in Vasco is set for a brief but crucial disruption, with Mormugao Deputy Collector Bhagwant Karmali on Friday convening a joint meeting of all major government departments to finalise arrangements for the proposed railway underpass project.
Officials from the PWD, Traffic Cell, Police, Railways, Electricity Department and the Municipality attended the coordination meet along with Vasco MLA Krishna Salkar.
The authorities confirmed that approach roads to the project site will remain completely closed for five days once work begins on November 17. Speaking after the meeting, MLA Salkar said the long-awaited project would commence as scheduled and that multiple works would be taken up simultaneously.
“We will undertake widening of the road along with the railway underpass project, and this will require a five-day road closure. There are utilities like light poles, and we plan to lay ducts for underground cabling while widening the road so that we don’t have to dig it again,” Salkar said, adding that sewage pipelines would also be shifted and provisions made for a pumping station.
He said the joint coordination meeting with the contractor and all government departments, held in the presence of Railways officials, was meant to ensure smooth execution.
“The road will be closed totally for five days as we begin the bridge work. Other components may take about a month, but the road will reopen with proper signage and diversions. The Traffic PI will also release a video explaining the diversion plan so that people are not confused. This five-day closure is only a temporary inconvenience for the greater good of Vasco,” he added.
Salkar said the project would offer long-term benefits once completed. “When the bridge is ready, the approach roads will also be widened and the sewerage issues resolved. This is a major development taken up in a coordinated manner so that people face minimal disruption," the MLA said.
"Deputy Collector Karmali will monitor the entire project, and the new underpass will be in place by November 25 for people to see the vision we had for them, along with an improved approach road,” he said.
