KOLKATA: The first crucial alternative route to and from Behala after the collapse of Majerhat bridge will be ready before October 12, the deadline jointly set by the railways and public works department (PWD). The work is nearing completion, with railways installing boombarriers at either end and the twin Bailey bridges taking shape. The new road connecting
Humayun Kabir Sarani in the south with
Alipore Avenue in the north, along the level crossing and Bailey bridges across Chetla Boat Canal, is also alomost complete.
In fact, the railways has managed to finish its work with minimum traffic blocks. Work has carried on through the night as well. “There will be a final coat of bitumen and the level crossing will be complete with a fine-tuning of the signalling system, which has to be synchronised with the boom-barriers on either end — Alipore and
New Alipore,” said a railway engineer. The cabin for signalling and manning the level crossing is almost ready.
One of the two Bailey bridges on Sunday inched towards the south bank of the Chetla Boat Canal, with piling work on either end coming to an end. Two platforms on either end have also been finished. The second bridge is also in the final stages of being assembled and will be launched across the canal before October 12. “We are hoping that both bridges can be functional by Friday,” a PWD source said.
A team of 150 engineers and workers from
Garden Reach Ship Builders and Engineers (GRSE), which are building the two Bailey bridges on an emergency basis, are working overnight to meet the deadline. Each of the 62.5-tonne bridge can carry heavy vehicles, yet, from Friday onwards, only private cars and small passenger carriers will be plying across it. Height bars are being fixed on either end of the road to stop bigger vehicles.
Apart from widening and strengthening the roads in Alipore and New Alipore, the PWD needed to rebuild manholes to withstand the pressure of increased traffic and extra load. PWD has rebuilt 40 manholes on Alipore Avenue and 19 manholes along New Alipore F Block Road.
During the Puja, Kolkata Police might allow two-way traffic along this route for faster dispersal of pandal hoppers. But once normalcy resumes after Puja, cops plan to run tidal traffic — north-bound in the morning and southbound in the evening.