Work starts near VIP Road for bottom tier of three-layer airport transit system
Times of India | 3 June 2025
123 Kolkata: Construction began on the two-level tunnel under VIP Road near Kolkata airport. The lower-level tunnel will cut across VIP Road to create a four-lane underpass connecting the Kolkata airport's operational area with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) plot to the west of VIP Road. Here, the sparsely inhabited AAI staff colony will give way to a cargo complex. The tunnel above will be used by metro trains heading into and out of the airport station on the New Garia-Kolkata airport Orange Line. Above the twin cross-directional tunnels is the current VIP Road alignment."Piling work is underway to create the box tunnel with four lanes, two heading to the proposed cargo complex from the airport and two others heading in the reverse direction. Once the access ramp is constructed, concrete boxes will be pushed under the VIP Road to create the tunnels without disturbing the at-grade traffic on VIP Road," said an official of the contractor engaged in the tunnel construction.Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL), which is in charge of the construction of the Orange Line, was also handed the job to build the airport cargo area access tunnel by AAI. The airport operator already handed Rs 230 crore to RVNL for the work, which is slated to be completed by this year-end. Thereafter, RVNL will construct the metro tunnel over the airport tunnel using the same technology.The metro line, which is elevated throughout the alignment, will move into a tunnel as it approaches the airport. The proposed underpass is situated just below the metro line that descends into the underground metro station at the airport.The airport's expansion across VIP Road was necessitated by the current constraints. Expansion of Kolkata airport beyond the existing boundary to the east of VIP Road is a challenge as it is severely land-locked, and the surrounding areas are thickly populated. So, using the land on the opposite side of VIP Road that currently houses the AAI colony is the only option. "We are constructing a 15m wide and 5.5m high, four-lane underpass to link the existing operational area of the airport to the proposed area across VIP Road," said airport director Pravat Ranjan Beuria.Once the new cargo complex is operational, VIP Road will cut through the airport with passenger terminals and flight operations to its east and the cargo facility to west. The space vacated at the airport once the cargo facility shifts to new complex will be utilised to add more parking bays.