From Setu to skywalk, hope revives for shelved projects after change in government
Telegraph | 16 May 2026
A flyover planned to ease congestion on EM Bypass, Sector V and New Town, but shelved because of fund constraints, is among a list of projects that could be revived following the change in government, engineers said.
A skywalk proposed at the busy Ruby crossing is also back in focus.
Engineers of the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA), the state government agency that planned both projects, are preparing presentations for the new urban development minister.
Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari has retained the urban development portfolio.
Some of the projects were planned nearly five years ago, and tenders had been floated for at least one of them, a KMDA official said.
EM Bypass flyover
The ₹900-crore flyover was planned to begin at the Metropolitan crossing on EM Bypass and end at Mahishbathan.
The plan was for the four-lane flyover, proposed to be 5.99km long, to take a right turn from the Chingrighata intersection, run over the Salt Lake Bypass and parts of Sector V above Ring Road, and cross a stretch of the wetlands before terminating at Mahishbathan.
The project included one up-ramp near Nalban for vehicles coming from Sector V and another on Salt Lake Ring Road. A down-ramp was planned at College More for vehicles headed towards Sector V.
Including all ramps, the length of the flyover would have been around 7km.
Since several pillars were to come up over the protected East Kolkata Wetlands, clearances from the Union environment ministry were obtained, a KMDA engineer said.
The KMDA had floated tenders to select a company for construction. According to the tender document, the work was to be completed within 18 months from the start of construction.
Larsen and Toubro was the sole bidder.
“We were told that the state government did not have the financial resources to take up the project at the time,” a KMDA official said.
Ruby skywalk
The skywalk project at the Ruby crossing was proposed in 2021, an official said.
The ₹88-crore structure was planned at the same height as the concourse of the Hemanta Mukhopadhyay Metro station, but below the Metro tracks.
The circular skywalk would have spread across the entire crossing. Four ramps were planned — one on each flank of EM Bypass, one towards Anandapur, and another towards Gariahat.
“The idea was to allow Metro passengers to reach any side of the crossing without having to step onto the road,” an official said.
“A detailed project report had been prepared, and police clearance for the project was granted nearly four years ago. Paucity of funds forced us to shelve the project,” a KMDA official said.
Jibanananda Setu
The two-lane Jibanananda Setu, which starts at the Jadavpur police station crossing, passes over the railway tracks and connects to Prince Anwar Shah Road connector, is too narrow to handle the area’s traffic volume.
Long queues of vehicles stretching across the bridge are a daily occurrence.
KMDA sources said a parallel bridge beside the existing structure had been planned to ease congestion.
“The existing bridge is 600m long. The proposed parallel bridge was planned to be of similar length,” an official said.
A feasibility study for the parallel bridge was proposed in 2019, but it never progressed further, KMDA sources said. The project has remained inactive since then.