The railways might this week give clearance for construction of a stretch of the Tallah bridge that will come up over train tracks, officials involved in the project said on Sunday.

Metro had on December 6 reported that work on erecting six of the 18 piers of the new Tallah bridge, which will come up between train tracks, was yet to start because the railways had not provided the necessary approval for the use of its land.

A joint inspection involving officials of the state public works department (PWD), railways and Larsen and Toubro, the private company hired to build the bridge, was held on Saturday. Sources said the matter of pending permission from the railways was discussed among the officials.

“We have received the general arrangement drawing (GAD). It will be approved and sent to the PWD soon,” the spokesperson for Eastern Railway said on Sunday.

“The permission from the railways is expected to come this week,” a PWD official said during the day.

The old Tallah bridge, which was a crucial link between Calcutta and the northern fringes, was pulled down a few months ago because it had worn out so much that engineers feared the structure could collapse any moment.

The 240-metre stretch of the 750-metre-long Tallah bridge will stand over railway tracks. An engineer of the PWD said work on building the foundation and piers had started, barring the stretch for which the railways’s permission is required.

“Six piers and five spans will come up along the 240-metre-long tract owned by the railways. The piers will be built on the railway land, besides tracks,” said a senior PWD engineer.

“There are a total of 18 piers and we have started work on building 12 piers. After the railways gives its approval to begin construction on its land, we can start work on building foundations and piers beside the railway tracks,” said the engineer.

The new bridge will cost the state government Rs 350 crore. The government will have to make an additional payment to the railways for using its land.

The state government had blamed the railways for the delay in completion of the Majerhat bridge. While inaugurating the Majerhat bridge earlier this month, chief minister Mamata Banerjee had said: “It is not that I am against the railways. I have been a railway minister and I know the rules. I am not blaming the officers or the department. I will blame the leaders who pull the strings from Delhi.”

Construction of the Tallah bridge began in July and the deadline for completion of the project is February 2022.