The Tallah bridge is scheduled to be shut down on Friday midnight and police have prepared multiple alternative routes to reach the five-point crossing in Shyambazar from BT Road.
Metro gives the low-down on the alternative routes, all of which will come into effect on February 1.
BT Road-Shyambazar
Route 1: Turn right from Chiria More to take Khagen Chatterjee Road, Cossipore Road, Chitpore bridge and Girish Avenue to reach Central Avenue.
Detour: Close to 3km.
Expected travel time: Around 27 minutes.
Problem areas: Khagen Chatterjee Road and Cossipore Road teem with pedestrians throughout the day. Footpaths are missing along both roads.
Trucks move in and out of the rail siding and contribute to congestion on the two roads.
The Cossipore bridge is in bad shape with iron rods coming off the railings.
Route 2: Move towards Shyambazar from Chiria More to reach Paikpara crossing and turn left to reach Raja Manindra Road, Milk Colony and then Belgachhia and Shyambazar.
Detour: Close to 5km.
Expected travel time: Around 25 minutes.
Problem areas: Raja Manindra Road is not wide enough to handle too much traffic. The Belgachhia bridge remains congested with traffic moving in either direction.
Traffic is reduced to a crawl near RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Route 3: Turn left from Chiria More to take Dum Dum Road, Northern Avenue and Belgachhia to reach Shyambazar.
Detour: Close to 6km.
Expected travel time: Around 35 minutes.
Problem areas: Northern Avenue remains choked with buses, minibuses and small vehicles.
BT Road from south
Route 1: Head straight towards Bagbazar from Central Avenue. Take Girish Avenue, Chitpore bridge and the Lockgate flyover to reach BT Road.
Detour: Close to 3km.
Expected travel time: Around 14 minutes.
Problem areas: Shanties take up the footpath near Women’s College and pedestrian movement is unrestricted. A few private bus stops take up a part of the road space in this area.
Vehicles from Galiff Street and Rabindra Sarani pour on to Girish Avenue near Chitpore bridge. So, the northward movement from Central Avenue is not smooth.
Route 2: Take Chitpore bridge from Bagbazar and head straight bypassing the Lockgate flyover.
Detour: Close to 3km.
Expected travel time: Around 27 minutes.
Problems areas: Inadequate road width and heavy traffic load.
Route 3: Take Cossipore bridge from Bagbazar and head straight to reach Dunlop via Gopal Lal Tagore Road or turn right to reach Khagen Chatterjee Road and then BT Road.
Detour: Close to 3km.
Expected travel time: Around 30 minutes
Problem areas: Cossipore Road is not wide enough to accommodate heavy traffic. There is no divider and lorries keep coming in and out of the rail yard and godowns located along road. There aren’t enough traffic signals.
Gopal Lal Tagore Road is notorious for pedestrian crossovers and evening markets, which take up a portion of the road on either side. There’s negligible police presence.
