A flyover connecting New Town to Sector V was remotely inaugurated by chief minister Mamata Banerjee from Nabanna on Thursday.
The flyover, which goes above the Kestopur canal, stretches between a point near Balaka Abasan in New Town’s Action Area I and the Sector V Ring Road near Godrej Waterside, in front of the Panache housing complex.
The 650m-long flyover is a crucial part of an alternative route to New Town from Salt Lake and Sector V and is expected to lessen travel time for commuters headed to the township from EM Bypass.
Thousands of vehicles ferrying people to their workplaces and back home enter and leave New Town every day.
Snarls are a common sight on the 10.5km-long Major Arterial Road (MAR), which is now the main link between New Town and Salt Lake on one end and the airport on the other.
During the morning rush hour it takes 45 minutes to an hour to drive from the Chingrighata intersection on the Bypass to the Unitech crossing — a distance of around 10km — through the Major Arterial Road. During non-rush hours, it takes half an hour to cover the stretch.
The volume of traffic on MAR is expected to reduce once light vehicles are allowed on the flyover from Friday morning. Motorists can take this flyover and drive straight to the Sector V Ring Road and head towards the Bypass keeping Nicco Park to the left.
It took three years to complete the four-lane flyover. It is equipped with LED street lighting systems, which will soon be powered by solar energy, said an official of Hidco, which built the flyover.
Realtors at work in the New Town-Sector V zone are happy.
“I am happy that the flyover has been thrown open for the public. Modern urban dwellers are quite focused on a definite set of conveniences to enhance their personal and professional lives. Infrastructure and ease of communication are their priorities. For residents of... the area, the new flyover will make accessibility from their residence to New Town and beyond much easier,” said Nakul Himatsingka of Ideal Group.
A senior traffic police officer of the Bidhannagar commissionerate said the flyover is expected to reduce the load on MAR.
“Some signage is already in place on the Sector V Ring Road-side and more will be installed. Once more and more people get to know about this flyover, it is expected that the volume of traffic on Major Arterial Road will increasingly go down. It will help cut down the travel time between New Town and the Bypass,” the officer said.
Thursday’s inauguration was attended by urban development and municipal affairs minister Firhad Hakim, sports and youth affairs minister Aroop Biswas, fire and emergency services minister Sujit Bose and Rajarhat-New Town MLA Tapas Chatterjee, along with senior officials of Hidco and the New Town Kolkata Development Authority.