A picture of a recently built railway overbridge (RoB) in Bhopal has become viral on social media due to its bizarre and possibly dangerous 90-degree turn. Situated near Aishbagh Stadium, the sharp turn of the bridge has drawn comparisons to the twists and turns in the popular mobile game Temple Run.
Although its terrifying design, officials have explained that the sudden turn was not an engineering mistake, but a design necessity. The bridge was constructed in this manner because of the lack of space and due to the proximity of the neighboring metro station, as reported by PTI.
“Because of the metro station, land is scarce at the location. Because there is a scarcity of land, there was no alternative. The idea behind the RoB is to link the two colonies,” said an official who is in charge of the construction. He further added that only light vehicles will be permitted to pass through the bridge, and heavy vehicles will not be given permission.
Public Works Department (Bridge Department) Chief Engineer V D Verma informed PTI, “It will be run in full safety and the speed of vehicles according to the guidelines of the Indian Road Congress.”
Though the Rs 18-crore overbridge is yet to open to the public, its 90-degree angle has already begun worrying social media users, who are wondering how secure it would be for drivers, particularly in low-visibility or high-speed conditions.
Comparison to Clock Tower, Bihar
The bridge’s image had been compared to that of another bizarre structure, Bihar Sharif’s clock tower. Suddently opened up in Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Pragati Yatra, the clock broke down just a day after its opening. Thieves entered the building and stole copper wires, and now the tower remains stuck at 4:20 an hour now etched in popularly circulated photographs.
Close-up photos of the Bihar clock tower revealed amateurish construction and neglect of detail. Painted white, the concrete structure looked raw and far from what it was originally designed to look like, according to pre-launch marketing photos.
The two strange structures have generated rows online, calling attention to issues of hurried public projects, dubious urban planning, and improved execution.