The approach to the Lockgate flyover from Girish Avenue in Bagbazar

Traffic in both directions will not be allowed on the Chitpore Lockgate flyover after the Tallah bridge is closed for demolition, police sources said.

Buses are not allowed on the 1.2km flyover, which connects Girish Avenue in Bagbazar with BT Road and runs parallel to the Tallah bridge.

Other vehicles are allowed to ply from BT Road towards Bagbazar from morning till 3pm, after which the direction of traffic is reversed.

Police sources said the flyover would remain open only for north-bound vehicles throughout the day once buses headed for BT Road from the north are allowed to ply through it. This squashes hopes that traffic in both directions would be allowed simultaneously on the flyover.

There has been a demand for allowing both-way traffic on the Lockgate flyover since buses and other heavy vehicles were banned on the Tallah bridge, causing congestion on Belgachhia Road and RG Kar Road.

“This flyover usually remains free of congestion. If police allow both-way traffic, it would reduce the travel time and congestion on adjoining roads,” said a resident of Baranagar.

Over three months have past since the Tallah bridge, a key link between Calcutta and the northern suburbs, has been closed to heavy vehicles.

The carriageway of the Lockgate flyover is around 20ft wide. “Buses will cover around eight to nine feet of the width, leaving space enough only for smaller vehicles. So, two-way traffic cannot be allowed on the structure,” an officer said.

“Besides, the flyover has two humps, which are not ideal for both-way movement. The impaired visibility can lead to accidents.”

Thousands of vehicles ply to and from Calcutta and the northern fringes through the Tallah bridge and the Lockgate flyover. However, the dynamics of traffic changed the day the 57-year-old Tallah bridge was declared unfit for use.

V.K. Raina, who was once a consultant to the United Nations and World Bank, had inspected the bridge on October 3. In his report handed over to chief secretary Rajiva Sinha, Raina had apparently described the bridge as “rotten” and expressed the fear that it might collapse any moment.

Raina’s report was only a reconfirmation of what engineering consultancy RITES, which functions under the railway ministry, had opined about the bridge — that it was unfit even for pedestrians.

After the 42-feet-wide bridge was made out of bounds for heavy vehicles on September 29, pedestrians were asked to walk down the thoroughfare as the footpaths were too risky to be used.

The result: bottlenecks and chaos on the connecting roads.

Lalbazar sources said the authorities had decided to divert buses through the Lockgate flyover to reduce the load on RG Kar Road and Belgachhia Road.

“The idea is to reduce congestion on RG Kar Road and Belgachhia Road. That can be achieved to some extent by diverting at least the north-bound buses through the Lockgate flyover. Currently, both north and south-bound buses are plying through Dum Dum Road, Northern Avenue and RG Kar Road to bypass the Tallah bridge. By diverting the north-bound buses through the Lockgate flyover, the pressure of traffic will automatically reduce,” said an officer of a traffic guard in north Calcutta.

Buses of around 50 routes passing through north Calcutta are being diverted.

Police said they would also encourage south-bound motorists to either take Dum Dum Road from Chiria More to reach RG Kar Road or ply through Khagen Chatterjee Road, Cossipore Road and Chitpore Road before reaching Girish Avenue and Central Avenue.

However, a section of the police said it would be a challenge to accommodate the entire volume of south-bound traffic on Dum Dum Road and Khagen Chatterjee Road, which are narrower compared with the Tallah bridge and are far more congested.

Post-Tallah

• Lockgate flyover will turn into a north-bound road. Buses will be allowed to ply through it.
• South-bound vehicles will be diverted through Khagen Chatterjee Road- Cossipore Road-Chitpore Road-Girish Avenue to reach Central Avenueand through Dum Dum Road-Northern Avenue-RG Kar Road to reach the Shyambazar crossing