A stretch of a road that can take load off the Shyambazar five-point crossing is lying unused, at a time the authorities are struggling to steer traffic across north Calcutta following the closure of the Tallah bridge for demolition.

The stretch — a 600m-section of Canal West Road — runs parallel to the road through which vehicles from the Tallah bridge would reach RG Kar Road.

If you are headed towards Shyambazar from Belgachhia, the road cuts through RG Kar Road immediately after you cross a small bridge near RG Kar hospital.

For cars and other vehicles headed to the Lockgate flyover from RG Kar Road, a right turn onto Canal West Road would save them a long circuitous journey through the five-point crossing and down Bhupen Bose Avenue and Girish Avenue. A 3km-trip through some of the most busy stretches in north Calcutta would be reduced to a 1.3km drive.

“This 600m-stretch of Canal West Road, between RG Kar Road and BT Road, is mostly used for loading up and unloading goods vehicles,” said Akhilesh Singh, who runs a business of transporting goods.

Rows of Matadors and trucks remain parked along one side of the road. A terminus of buses plying between Lauhati in Rajarhat and Shyambazar is also located on the stretch.

Traffic cops posted on RG Kar Road, near the hospital, on Tuesday were unsure whether to allow all vehicles turn right to Canal West Road. Senior officers said there was no restriction but the stretch does not feature on the traffic diversion plan.

On Tuesday, movement down Galiff Street was restricted. Vehicles were diverted through Pran Krishna Mukherjee Road, which runs parallel to Galiff Street and opens right in front of the passage to the Lockgate flyover.

Officers said the decision was taken to allow more space to vehicles coming from Rabindra Sarani.

“We are introducing changes almost every other day after studying the traffic pattern,” said an officer of Calcutta police.