The Manikui bridge over Subernarekha river connecting Kandra and Chandil has been built again and will get operational shortly.

Located at Manikui in Seraikela-Kharsawan, about 25km away from here, the bridge had collapsed in 2013, disrupting traffic from Tata-Kandra Road and Chaibasa-Kandra Road to the NH-33.

Now, commuters will be able to use a new bridge in the next two months. Road construction department, which made a fresh bridge adjoining the collapsed bridge, is constructing approach roads

“The new bridge is ready, work on constructing the approach roads is on. We expect the roads will be ready in two months to make the bridge operational,” said Dinesh Kumar Rajak, the department’s executive engineer in Seraikela division.

Once Manikui bridge got operational, much traffic pressure on city traffic will reduce, Rajak added. Around 1,500 trucks-trailers and as many cars used to cross Manikui bridge every day, according to a road construction department (Seraikela division) survey.

Without the Manikui bridge, commuters and vehicles carrying raw materials take Kandra-Chowka or Tata-Kandra routes to reach Ranchi, Bokaro, Dhanbad and Purulia (Bengal). Some 700 trucks-trailers enter Jamshedpur to take the NH-33 whereas the rest 800 trucks-trailers used the Kandra-Chowka Road, an extra detour of 22km, to reach the same highway.

Though the road construction department had set up a diversion bridge adjoining the collapsed Manikui bridge, it washed away twice in the floods of 2015 and 2017 .

Welcoming the new Manikui bridge, Chaibasa-based transporter Kartar Singh said earlier they always used Manikui bridge to reach Bengal after carrying iron ore from Noamundi or Kiriburu (West Singhbhum). After its collapse, we had to make detours either through Kandra-Chowka Road or Jamshedpur on Tata-Kandra Road,” said Singh.

Agreed businessman Rajesh Vadhani of Bistupur, Jamshedpur. “Since the past five years, reaching Bokaro by car without Manikui bridge has been Herculean,” he said. “I cross Kandra-Chowka Road and again return to Chandil, an extra 22km,” he said.