Dilapidated patch, potholes on JCRB flyover increase risk of major accidents

Srinagar, Mar 18: The flyover connecting Jehangir Chowk to Rambagh (JCRB)was built to ease the travel and get rid of the traffic gridlock in the city. However, the surface of the 2.5 kilometre stretch is potholed at many places including a dilapidated patch near Iqra Masjid.

A motorist told Greater Kashmir that these potholes are so big that they pose risk of major accidents “Vehicles are often seen speeding on the four-lane expressway and drivers have to apply sudden brakes or change lanes while trying to bypass the dilapidated patch. Risking collision with other speeding vehicles coming from behind or the sidewalls of the flyover itself,” he said.

   

He said, risk of accidents increases during night time when the visibility of these potholes is very less and “drivers lose control when they drive into these potholes at a high speed.”

“The other night I was on my way home and was driving towards Jehangir Chowk when I had to put sudden brakes on my car and was about to collide with the sides of the flyover,” says Arshid Bhat, a resident of Gaw Kadal. He says he was driving at the speed of 65-kms-per-hour.

Another motorist who wished not to be named, said his wheel bearings came off when he drove straight into the potholes on the flyover. “I was lucky that the incident took place during the day time and not during the night.”

When contacted, the Roads and Buildings department said the flyover has not yet been transferred to it by the Jammu and Kashmir Reconstruction Agency (J&K ERA) that constructed the flyover in 2019. “So for now, they are the one bound to repair and look after it.”

CEO J&K ERA, Syed Abid Rasheed Shah when asked to comment on the matter, said “we will repair the dilapidated stretch and make sure that no untoward incidents take place.”

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