Traffic will remain suspended on the Parama flyover for four hours from midnight on Saturdays and Sundays, starting this weekend, to facilitate maintenance of the structure, police said.
The state urban development department has sought the suspension till work is over, officials of the department said. The 7.5km-long flyover is maintained by the KMDA, which functions under the urban development department.
Senior KMDA officials said they had a few rounds of meetings with Kolkata police, where it was decided that the suspension of traffic on the flyover from midnight till 4am on Saturdays and Sundays would start this weekend.
KMDA engineers said at least six hours of uninterrupted scanning was required for thorough cleaning and inspection of the flyover, especially before the monsoon.
But since that was not possible because of heavy traffic that the flyover usually witnesses, they settled for a four-hour suspension. They said it had not yet been decided how long work would continue.
“We have had rounds of discussions with the engineers and the closure should happen from this week. They have said this was required for proper maintenance of the flyover,” a senior police officer said.
Waterlogging on the Parama flyover every monsoon would result in traffic slowing down on the flyover, causing long snarls. Pedestrians walking along the Park Circus connector have also complained of getting drenched with water spilling from the flyover.
“We have engaged an agency to oversee the maintenance of opening of the water outlets. Their staff will be stationed below the flyover and will regularly clean the waste that gets deposited near the opening of the outlets. The waste triggers waterlogging,” said an engineer of the KMDA.
Officials said a team of five men would inspect all water outlets every day across the entire length of the flyover. The team will accompany engineers on Saturdays and Sundays during a thorough scanning of the structure to find out whether water is seeping into the concrete parts.
“We have observed that apart from dust, the outlets of the flyover usually get clogged with plastic packets,” the engineer said.
On Tuesday, soon after a smart shower in the morning, a team of engineers scanned the flyover with members of the maintenance agency. All the outlets were cleaned and the pipes were checked to ascertain whether water was draining out properly.