Kolkata: The Bailey bridge connecting Salt Lake and VIP Road near Dakshindari, the second such bridge over the Kestopur canal off VIP Road, is set to open to traffic by Jan 31.Officials of KMDA said that work to set up the sub-structure of the bridge has been completed and the girders of the bridge has been launched.
“Work to prepare the approach roads on both sides of the bridge will now be taken up and shall be completed by the last week of this month,” said a KMDA official.
Govt sources said that once the bridge is fully ready for traffic movement, a date will be fixed for its official inauguration.There was a week-long traffic block on about a 30m stretch of the Kolkata-bound flank of VIP Road between Dakshindari and Golaghata earlier this month while KMDA was installing the truss structure, or girders, of the bridge.Unlike the existing Bailey bridge situated at Lake Town, which only allows one-way traffic entering Salt Lake from VIP Road, the second Bailey bridge will be a two-way bridge for vehicles to move in both directions. The bridge will be 42.6 m long, with a width of 7.5 m. It will have two lanes for both-way traffic. The project cost of the bridge is Rs 6.2 crore.The first Bailey bridge connecting Lake Town and Salt Lake AE Block was set up in Sept 2019. “The new Bailey bridge will not only help in reducing traffic pressure at Ultadanga Hidco crossing but also likely to assist in reducing traffic pressure at the Salt Lake AK and AJ Block crossing junction to some extent,” said an official.
