Kolkata: Vidyasagar Setu was shut for 12 hours on Sunday from 6 am to 6 pm to carry out work to replace the stay cables of the bridge. The bridge opened to resume traffic movement from 6 pm onwards.
Both cops and engineers from HRBC hinted that these weekend shutdowns— taking place almost every week except for major festivals—will continue at least until the end of June this year.
Senior HRBC engineers said the work involved replacing two types of cables—stay cables and holding-down cables—and that Sunday's shutdown was intended to complete a portion of the task. They said additional traffic closures will be required before the rehabilitation is completed.
HRBC is working to overhaul the 33-year-old bridge. Officials said that out of the 152 stay cables, 19 are to be replaced. The replacement of the first 4 hold-down cables has been completed, and 15 are left to be done in a phase-wise manner. Weekly closures are being enforced on Sundays for HRBC to carry out work.
The 823-metre-long Vidyasagar Setu, which opened to traffic back in October 1992, is the first and is known to be the longest cable-stayed bridge in the country. It has a 35-metre width, with 152 cables using steel pylons to hold the bridge structure.