One of the flanks of the Ambedkar bridge on the EM Bypass, which takes vehicles from Parama to Ruby, will be shut to traffic from 11pm on Friday to make way for load test of the structure.

The blockade would be removed at 5am on Monday.

The bridge is crucial for vehicular movement on the Bypass, considering the volume of traffic it handles.

Located near the PC Chandra Garden on the Bypass, the Ambedkar bridge is over 30-years-old.

In 2016, engineering consultancy company RITES had listed it among five bridges and flyovers in Calcutta that needed immediate repairs. The four others on the list were — Bankim Setu in Howrah, Sealdah flyover, Baghajatin rail overbridge and Chingrighata flyover. Two years after this, the urban development department had replaced the expansion joints of the bridge. The department has now decided to conduct a load test.

“We would want to find out whether the load bearing capacity of the bridge has gone down since it was built or if it requires certain repairs so that the capacity can be enhanced,” a senior engineer of the Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), which is responsible for the bridge’s upkeep and maintenance, said.

“All the four others that were on the 2016 list have undergone some sort of repairs,” the CMDA engineer said.

During the time when the flank that carries vehicles from Parama to Garia will remain shut, the police have decided to divert the traffic to the other flank that takes vehicles from Garia to Ultadanga.

“The flank would be split into two halves with guardrails,” said a senior officer of Tiljala traffic guard.

“Though the traffic load is comparatively less on Saturdays and Sundays, if the tail up is more, vehicles will be diverted from Parama and Ruby.”

Officials in the urban development department said the load test of the Ambedkar bridge would comprise mounting several loaded trucks first on the lane that is to be tested followed by empty trucks.

A team of engineers would check how different components of the bridge — such as the deck slab, bearings, piers and the cables — were responding to the loads.

Deflections of different components of the bridge would be calculated and the report would be sent to the bridge monitoring committee that the state government has set up in 2018 after the Majerhat bridge collapse.