12 Kolkata: The 45-metre long bridge over the inception canal near a popular restaurant at Tagore Park on EM Bypass is nearing completion and is expected to be opened to traffic in May, giving more space for vehicles to move. Once the 24-metre wide bridge is added, it will become a 34-metre wide stretch with 10 metres to be carved out for service lanes.
The bridge, which is being constructed by the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA), is widening the existing culvert on the Science City-bound flank at Tagore Park by another 24 metres to accommodate more vehicle space. KMDA officials said that once the bridge is completed, it will widen the present narrow stretch of the Bypass at the spot, as vehicles coming from Science City from one end and Ruby from another now slow down before entering the culvert, which is only about 10-metre wide. Now, vehicles coming from Ruby and headed towards Science City have to slow down as the stretch suddenly becomes narrow.
The recent district road safety committee meeting saw cops requesting work on this stretch to be completed before the monsoon. "Our past experience during monsoon was not a happy one due to frequent jams. This will also ensure that vehicles towards the Bypass hospitals here can get a dedicated channel, a demand from ambulance drivers since the past two years," said a senior police officer.
Police sources said that a pipeline laid by the KEIIP earlier created a bottleneck for the completion of work, as KMDA informed the Kolkata traffic police, adding that the initial drawing plan did not include this pipe and its existence was found only during the construction.
"KMDA has informed us that KEIIP has helped them remove the pipeline and that the final phase of work has begun on this stretch. It is expected to be thrown open to the public in May," said an officer at Lalbazar.
Work on constructing the bridge just beside the culvert on the Science City-bound flank of EM Bypass near the restaurant started in 2022. The authorities had to work on clearing the high-tension electric cables along the canal bank to make way for the bridge.
KMDA has also been working to convert abandoned culverts on EM Bypass into pedestrian subways. Work is presently going on in two such abandoned culverts, one near Uttar Panchannagram crossing and another near the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI).