KOLKATA: The temporary shutdown of the Chingrighata flyover for load test, coupled with pouring rain, brought the traffic on the north-bound flank of EM Bypass to a grinding halt on Saturday. Moreover, two car breakdowns on Maa and the AJC Bose flyovers, traffic restrictions due to VIP movements and the shutting of Ultadanga flyover’s city-bound arm added to commuters’ woes, with thousands headed for the airport, Salt Lake, VIP Road and New Town and those coming from the Maa flyover getting stuck behind serpentine rows of cars for one to two-and-a-half hours.
The plan was to keep the bridge shut from 9pm on Friday till Monday morning. But top officers said an SOS had been sent to KMDA, requesting them to free the bridge by 8am on Monday. “Otherwise, traffic will go for a toss, especially during rush hours,” said an officer.
Despite it being a weekend, when most of the IT offices in Salt Lake were shut, it took commuters almost two hours to travel from Park Circus Seven Points or Ruby Crossing to Salt Lake stadium as vehicles stood bumper-to-bumper. According to cops, Puja shoppers heading out in their cars added to the traffic volume.
The Chingrighata flyover handles 5,000 to 6,000 small vehicles an hour. Its shutdown meant all those vehicles, which would have otherwise turned towards the Salt Lake Bypass, had to go ahead to the Beliaghata crossing and then turn right into Salt Lake. “Lane discipline went for a toss. The crossing is constricted. Add to it, was the huge volume vehicles from Beliaghata Main Road and Salt Lake headed to Bypass. In the morning, the jam stretched up to the middle of Maa flyover, somewhere above the Bridge No. 4. On the north-bound flank connecting the Ruby crossing and Salt Lake, the jam stretched right up to VIP Bazar,” said an officer at Lalbazar.
“I took the Maa flyover around 11am. By the time I reached Sector III in Salt Lake it was already 2pm. I missed an appointment at Sushrut Eye Hospital,” said Sanchari Sinha, a CA aspirant from New Alipore. Srabani Dasgupta, a consultant at a Hospital on Bypass, wrote on the official Kolkata Traffic Police Facebook page: “It took more than 1 hr 20 mins to cross Chingrighata from Ruby, this afternoon (2.10-3.30pm).” Swapan Debnath, a WBTC bus driver on S-9 route (Jadavpur-Salt Lake), said he usually completed the morning trip in an hour, but it took three hours on Saturday. “It was a nightmare,” he said.
“We found that there were some problems at the Chingrighata crossing, making it difficult for certain vehicles turning right towards Nicco Park. We have asked the civic authorities to make some immediate changes in the median divider. Besides, we have asked KMDA to change certain alignments even of road furniture on Bypass. Once these small changes are made, we will sit with all agencies, including Bidhannagar police, and decide on allowing vehicles to turn right from the Chingrighata crossing on Sunday, if needed,” said a Beliaghata traffic guard officer.
The plan was to keep the bridge shut from 9pm on Friday till Monday morning. But top officers said an SOS had been sent to KMDA, requesting them to free the bridge by 8am on Monday. “Otherwise, traffic will go for a toss, especially during rush hours,” said an officer.
Despite it being a weekend, when most of the IT offices in Salt Lake were shut, it took commuters almost two hours to travel from Park Circus Seven Points or Ruby Crossing to Salt Lake stadium as vehicles stood bumper-to-bumper. According to cops, Puja shoppers heading out in their cars added to the traffic volume.
The Chingrighata flyover handles 5,000 to 6,000 small vehicles an hour. Its shutdown meant all those vehicles, which would have otherwise turned towards the Salt Lake Bypass, had to go ahead to the Beliaghata crossing and then turn right into Salt Lake. “Lane discipline went for a toss. The crossing is constricted. Add to it, was the huge volume vehicles from Beliaghata Main Road and Salt Lake headed to Bypass. In the morning, the jam stretched up to the middle of Maa flyover, somewhere above the Bridge No. 4. On the north-bound flank connecting the Ruby crossing and Salt Lake, the jam stretched right up to VIP Bazar,” said an officer at Lalbazar.
“I took the Maa flyover around 11am. By the time I reached Sector III in Salt Lake it was already 2pm. I missed an appointment at Sushrut Eye Hospital,” said Sanchari Sinha, a CA aspirant from New Alipore. Srabani Dasgupta, a consultant at a Hospital on Bypass, wrote on the official Kolkata Traffic Police Facebook page: “It took more than 1 hr 20 mins to cross Chingrighata from Ruby, this afternoon (2.10-3.30pm).” Swapan Debnath, a WBTC bus driver on S-9 route (Jadavpur-Salt Lake), said he usually completed the morning trip in an hour, but it took three hours on Saturday. “It was a nightmare,” he said.
“We found that there were some problems at the Chingrighata crossing, making it difficult for certain vehicles turning right towards Nicco Park. We have asked the civic authorities to make some immediate changes in the median divider. Besides, we have asked KMDA to change certain alignments even of road furniture on Bypass. Once these small changes are made, we will sit with all agencies, including Bidhannagar police, and decide on allowing vehicles to turn right from the Chingrighata crossing on Sunday, if needed,” said a Beliaghata traffic guard officer.
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