The state government has allowed the resumption of work on the stretch of the Joka-Esplanade Metro adjacent to the collapsed Majerhat bridge.

At a meeting in Nabanna on Thursday, it was decided that construction of the new bridge would start after a minor change in design and the Metro work could resume after that.

Railway representatives at the meeting were asked to go ahead with the construction of the Majerhat station, which has remained stuck for sometime, after taking necessary precautions, a public works department official said.

But Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL), the project’s implementing agency, cannot build a portion of the station’s concourse that is close to the bridge.

The agency has been working on a stretch of Diamond Harbour Road between Goragachha Road and Mint at Taratala but work at the site adjoining the collapsed Majerhat bridge had stopped, a PWD official said.

“There may have been some loss of time in the Metro construction but now that the portion above the tracks has been cleared, work on both projects will run simultaneously,” the official who was present at the meeting said.

Traffic cops have been directed to block the stretch beyond Burdwan Road for shifting of underground utilities, an officer in Lalbazar said.

The shift will be the first step towards soil testing and construction of piers.

Railway officials present at the meeting told government representatives that they should be allowed to start work as the project had been delayed and contractors would seek compensation.

Work on the Majerhat station stopped when the bridge collapsed on September 4, 2018. In October, the police had told RVNL in a letter that the government had no objection to its resuming work.

But soon after work started, it had to stop again as the government said the new bridge would be wider and no portion of the station should protrude from the pillars of the Metro.

The agency ruled out the possibility, triggering a fresh stand-off.

“The minor changes suggested by the Haryana company that has bagged the contract to build the bridge will be finalised by next week,” a government official said.