ODISHA: An incident occurred on Tuesday near Rasalpur block in Jeypore, Odisha, where a bridge on National Highway-16, connecting Chennai and Kolkata, submerged. As a result, the flow of vehicles in the vicinity was restricted.

The construction of this bridge took place in 2008, and JP Verma, the Project Director of NHAI, mentioned that investigations are underway to determine the cause behind this unfortunate incident. Local residents attributed the collapse of the bridge to substandard construction work.

"It appears to be a case of structural failure at first glance. Once the expert committee arrives, we will ascertain the timeline for restoration... We will establish a temporary alternative route to manage the traffic," he added.

According to reports from Odisha TV, the sinking of a section of the bridge was initially noticed by local residents. Fortunately, no vehicles were passing through that particular area during that time.

Sridhar Das, a resident of the locality, informed Odisha TV, "While we were in the vicinity, a vehicle passed by, and we heard a loud noise. We rushed to the spot and discovered that a portion of the bridge had collapsed. This unfortunate incident occurred due to the usage of inferior construction materials."

The Kuakhia police have taken measures to regulate the traffic and redirected numerous stranded vehicles to alleviate congestion on the route.

Nevertheless, Nilakantha Pradhan, the RTO Jeypore, informed Odisha TV that commuters are experiencing traffic issues. He added, "We are currently reducing the load on the other side of the bridge. If any damage occurs to the opposite side of the bridge, it will disrupt the state's transportation. Hence, the Chandikhole RTO is monitoring one end of the bridge, while we are attending to the other side."

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