Oops! Lucknow Bridge Smashes Into Building, Netizens Crown It 'World's 8th Wonder' | WATCH

Discover the bizarre story behind Lucknow's viral flyover that appeared to smash into a building, dubbed the '8th Wonder of the World' online.

Lucknow Bridge Smashes Into Building (Photo: INSTAGRAM/tarun.lucknowi)

A partially built flyover in Lucknow, which has recently gone viral for seeming to end directly in a residential complex, is now set for completion. The unusual sight, nicknamed the "eighth wonder of the world" on social media, was the result of a land dispute that had dragged on for years and has only now been settled.

The Krishnanagar-Kesari Khera overbridge, which was meant to curb acute traffic jams in localities such as Maharajapuram and Kesarikheda, attracted widespread attention following a clip posted by stand-up comedian Tarun Lucknowi that received more than two million views. The video captured iron bars on the under-construction flyover apparently jutting out to attach to a building's wall, giving the scene a dreamlike and seemingly inexplicable architectural mistake.

The Need For The Flyover

People of various Lucknow areas have suffered on a daily basis over the years from traffic jams caused by a railway crossing between Krishnanagar and Kesarikheda, which closes over 60 times on a daily basis. Every closure makes commuters wait for 15-20 minutes, resulting in huge delays during rush hour.

To meet the consistent demand of the public, Defence Minister and Lucknow MP Rajnath Singh facilitated the sanctioning of the almost 1-kilometer-long, 2-lane railway overbridge (ROB). This project, which cost an estimated Rs 74 crore, was proposed to link Indralok Colony close to Krishnanagar's Traffic Park with Kesarikheda. The foundation stone was laid on July 17, 2023, and work began in February 2024. Work was about 75% through before the surprise hurdle in its path.

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A post shared by Tarun Lucknowi (@tarun.lucknowi)

The Unexpected Standoff

The core issue arose when construction reached the Krishnanagar-Kesari Khera crossing in Para. A cluster of houses and shops stood directly in the flyover's path, and their owners had not yet received compensation. This bottleneck halted construction at the crucial point for nearly three months, even as work progressed in unaffected areas, ultimately leading to the viral images and videos.

Resolution Reached

The dispute was now successfully intervened by the Public Works Department (PWD). On Saturday, June 28, measurement work was carried out by a six-member team for the lands of 31 different people. Compensation was fixed at two times the agricultural land's circle rate, which comes to be Rs 7,240 per square meter, nearly a doubling of the initial rate of Rs 3,620 per square meter.
Among the affected are farmers and people who had bought plots over the years. The maximum area, around 320 square meters, is with the families of Pankaj Yadav, Sumit Yadav, and Ramkishore. Deepu, an owner of a plot who also had a building material shop, confirmed he would be paid Rs 1.36 lakh for 24.385 square meters of his land. 

Demolition Underway

Authorities from Uttar Pradesh Rajya Setu Nigam have confirmed that the demolishing of the hindering building complex has already begun. At the time of Saturday, over half of the third floor has been demolished. Authorities anticipate the total demolition and clearing of debris within seven or eight days. Once the site is free, the rest of the overbridge construction will go on, ending Lucknow's "eighth wonder" and at last relieving the daily grind for thousands.