A 200m stretch of EM Bypass near the Ruby crossing, which has been closed to traffic for nearly three years, will be reopened in about a fortnight, Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) officials said on Tuesday.

The stretch, on the Ruby-bound flank, was closed for the construction of Hemanta Mukherjee (Ruby crossing) station of the New Garia-Airport Metro corridor. The closure has made traffic snarls on the flank an everyday affair, especially during the evening rush hours

The parallel stretch on which vehicles ply was reserved for a green verge, a cycle track and a service lane.

Once the 12m-wide stretch is opened, vehicles will ply under the Metro station.

“Cars and buses approach the closed stretch, slow down and swerve left. That triggers long snarls, especially during rush hours,” said a commuter, a resident of Patuli.

“The stretch will be opened in a fortnight. The road is ready and vehicles can ply through it anytime, but there is a scaffolding around a pier ahead of the closed stretch. Till the scaffolding is removed, vehicles cannot be allowed on the stretch,” said an official of the CMDA, the custodian of the road.

An official of the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), which is building the New Garia-Airport Metro link, echoed the CMDA official’s statement.

“RVNL, which is constructing the pier, has said they would need about a fortnight to complete the work. If they manage to finish before that, the stretch will be opened earlier than scheduled,” the CMDA official said.

The stretch was supposed to be opened much earlier. “RVNL had initially promised to open it within a year of its closure but they missed the deadline,” the official said.

The CMDA is also targeting to open a three-lane-wide culvert on the Ruby-bound flank of the Bypass near the Kalikapur crossing, another point of snarls. “Once the culvert is open, vehicles will get a wider passage and that will reduce snarls,” the official said.