The Gariahat flyover will remain closed to traffic from 10pm on Friday till 6am on Tuesday to facilitate a test to assess the load-bearing capacity of the structure, police said on Wednesday.
“Neither Golpark-bound nor Ballygunge Phari-bound traffic will be allowed on the flyover during the period,” said a senior police officer.
“Since trucks and machinery will be stationed on the flyover as part of the load test, heavy vehicles, including buses and minibuses, will be kept off the Gariahat crossing. Only smaller vehicles will be allowed to cross the intersection,” the officer said.
Buses on several routes, including 80B, 234, 37A, 13C/1and AC5, will take a right turn from the Deshapriya Park crossing and move through Sarat Bose Road and Southern Avenue to reach Golpark, and vice-versa, to avoid the Gariahat crossing, officers said.
Minibuses bound for Kasba and Ekdalia will move through Swinhoe Street, Cornfield Road, Rashbehari Avenue and Bijon Setu.
The Gariahat flyover, inaugurated in April 2002, was among the flyovers shortlisted in November by the Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners for load tests.
The other four are the Park Street, AJC Bose Road, Lockgate and Nagerbazar flyovers. The load test of the Park Street flyover is over.
Beginning Friday night, HRBC engineers will conduct two types of tests on the bridge — static and dynamic. The results will be collated and analysed to determine the structural stability of the bridge.
In the static test, engineers will find out the horizontal pressure of the wind that tries to push the bridge sideways. The aim of the dynamic test is to measure the oscillation of the bridge under the impact of the vertical wind pressure.
Based on the findings of the test, engineers will decide whether cosmetic repairs of the flyover are enough to increase its life or an overhauling is needed.
“The test was long overdue as the traffic load on the Gariahat flyover has increased many times over the years,” said an HRBC engineer.
“The results of the test will be sent to a committee of experts on flyovers and bridges that was set up by the state government after the collapse of the Majerhat bridge in 2018,” the engineers said. “The experts will go through the findings and decide what needs to be done on a priority basis.”