The second phase of the dismantling of Vivekananda Road flyover will begin from August 27.

The stretch of the busy Vivekananda Road between Ganesh Talkies and Girish Park will be shut to traffic for nearly a month-and-a-half, the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) decided on Saturday.

Calcutta police would work out a detailed diversion plan for small, medium and heavy vehicles which ply along the Vivekananda Road, before the second phase of the dismantling begins, senior officers from Lalbazar who were present at a coordination meeting with several agencies in presence of Firhad Hakim, the chairman of the CMC's board of administrators, said.

“We will come out with a detailed notification clearly explaining the route that the diverted vehicles would have to take once the Vivekananda Road is shut to vehicular traffic,” a senior police officer said. “But prior to handing over the stretch to the contractors, we will have to clear the area of all temporary structures with the help of the civic body.”

Officials from the urban development department, which is overseeing the razing of the flyover, a 41-metre portion of which had collapsed in March 2016 killing 45 people, said the first phase of the demolition work on Strand Road was completed.

“The stretch between Posta Bazar and part of the Strand Road near Howrah Bridge has been completed. The stretch would be opened to traffic only after the road-surface has been properly repaired,” said a senior official of the CMDA, the executing agency responsible for pulling down the flyover.

Hakim said the CMC would take up the work of road repair on a war footing. Once ready, the part of Posta market which was shut for over a month and a half now for the first phase of the dismantling work, would be thrown open.

He said the CMC would also repair the stretch of Vivekananda Road that would be damaged during the next phase of demolition work.

Senior police officers said they would soon start inspecting the traffic volume on some of the key roads around the Vivekananda Road, including Beadon Street, KK Tagore Street, Nimtala Ghat Street and Rabindra Sarani to work out the blueprint for traffic diversion. “Godowns and shop-owners would have to be informed in advance about the closure of the Vivekananda Road and alternative parking lots would have to be identified,” said a senior officer of Posta police station. “Senior officers will meet the traders bodies to draw up the final plan.”

The state government has engaged a Mumbai-based company to pull down the fallen Vivekananda flyover.

On Saturday some of the senior officials of the company, which had also razed the fallen Majherhat bridge, said the biggest challenge would be pulling down the concrete deck slabs that now remain positioned very close to some of the buildings on the Vivekananda Road. “Some of the occupants of these buildings would have to be shifted out for a few days when the demolition work begins,” said an official of the company.