A traffic block on EM Bypass, which Metro Railway had sought to build a foot overbridge at the Metropolitan intersection and construct a 90m viaduct, will not be possible for at least the next two months till the ongoing Metro work at the Chingrighata intersection is over, police said on Friday.
"A traffic block is already in place at Chingrighata. A second one is not possible now, not till the next two months," said a senior police officer overseeing traffic movement in Calcutta. "Metro railway sought time from us for its work at Chingrighata. We have offered 75 days to complete it."
Chingrighata, where roads from Salt Lake, Beleghata and Chaulpatty meet, is one of the most critical intersections on the 29km Bypass. The width of the road at Chingrighata is constricted because of a culvert on a canal and the Chingrighata flyover that takes up one flank of the Bypass, traffic planners said.
"The distance between Chingrighata and the Metropolitan intersection, where Metro wants a blockade, is just about 600m. How can we have traffic diversions within such a short span on a vital road?" the police officer said. "Discussions for the next round of traffic block will be taken up towards the end of May or June."
Traffic movement around Chingrighata is already hit because the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), the implementing agency for the Metro line connecting Calcutta airport and New Garia, is constructing a pillar — No. 319. This is among the three pillars on which the curved section of the viaduct (on which metro tracks are laid) will rest before taking a bend towards Salt Lake from the Bypass. Construction of two other pillars is over.
"After a series of trial runs, we handed over the Chingrighata site to RVNL on February 27. It took some time for the actual construction work to start," said a traffic police officer. "We have seen there is an overshoot of the timeline that we offered for finishing the work, including the last one near the Calcutta International School."
Metro railway officials said it was important to construct a 90m viaduct beyond the Beleghata station so trains reaching the station from New Garia can start their reverse journey until the entire line is ready.
“The 90m stretch at the Metropolitan crossing is vital because without it trains from New Garia will take more time to take a turn,” a senior metro railway official said.
“We want a traffic block to construct a support on the median of the Bypass for the proposed foot overbridge at Beleghata station."
The police said because of the work at Chingrighata, the flank towards Salt Lake from EM Bypass has been closed to traffic. As a result, vehicles headed towards Science City from Ultdanaga and trying to take a left turn for Salt Lake at Chingrighata are now made to move along a narrow road adjoining the Jal Vayu Vihar housing complex.