The majority of goods cars leaving and entering Kolkata will be detoured down the important northern thoroughfare to allow for repairs to the Santragachhi railway overbridge in Howrah, thus traffic through BT Road is likely to move more slowly starting on Saturday.
“Cars, buses, two-wheelers, and ambulances will be permitted on the Santragachhi bridge between 5am and 11pm starting on Saturday. According to Praveen Kumar Tripathi, the police commissioner of the Howrah police commissionerate, no goods vehicles would be permitted to use the bridge until repairs are being made.
On the Santragachhi bridge, forces will be stationed round-the-clock.
Vehicles entering and exiting Kolkata, primarily via Vidyasagar Setu, rely on the Santragachhi bridge, which spans National Highway-16 and the Kona Expressway in Howrah.
According to a traffic study conducted by the Howrah police, the Santragachhi bridge is used by close to 70,000 vehicles per day.
The girders had their most recent repair in 2016. In order to ensure that the bridge oscillates in a desirable manner and that the vehicle load is appropriately passed through the pillars to the ground, PWD engineers have opted to rebuild about 20 broken expansion joints of the bridge.
In addition, certain repairs will be made to the viaduct at the bridge’s Kolkata end, according to PWD officials.
Late on Friday, workers and equipment for the repair project came close to the Santragachhi bridge.
A senior officer of the Howrah police commissioner ate stated that “traffic limits on the bridge will go into effect on Saturday and are likely to stay in place until the end of December.”
Smaller cars travelling to Salap or Dhulagarh, according to senior officers, can take the Howrah-Amta route from the Shanpur intersection after passing through the Vidyasagar Setu toll plaza.
Senior police officers announced that goods vehicles travelling from Kolkata to the Dhulagarh toll plaza on NH-16 (formerly NH-6) will be permitted to take Andul Road after passing through the Vidyasagar Setu toll plaza between 10pm and 6am.
Autorickshaws and battery-powered rickshaws won’t be permitted on Andul Road because of its narrowness when trucks and other goods vehicles are travelling through it, according to an officer.
According to the police, the goods vehicles that entered the city through the Santragachhi bridge from the Dankuni-end, via Maitypara, until Friday will be rerouted beginning on Saturday through Nivedita Setu, BT Road, and the Tallah bridge.
The Lockgate flyover, Tallah bridge, BT Road, and Dunlop will be used as a detour route for all goods vehicles heading toward the Durgapur Expressway and Delhi Road towards Nivedita Setu.
The decision has been made to redirect all goods vehicles leaving the Kolkata port and travelling toward Delhi Road through Strand Road, the Esplanade crossing, and Chittaranjan Avenue in order to reach BT Road and Dunlop. They will then be guided in the direction of Nivedita Setu, according to a senior police officer.
From 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., traffic going for Mumbai Road will be detoured through Andul Road.
To reach Dunlop, all goods vehicles leaving Posta, Budge Budge, and Maheshtala and travelling toward Delhi Road must pass through Esplanade, Chittaranjan Avenue, and BT Road.