Vehicles moved largely smoothly during the day on the first working day after police rejigged traffic plan around the Tallah bridge.

Vehicles bound for Cossipore Road from Central Avenue were diverted towards the Shyambazar five-point crossing in the evening as BT Road-bound traffic struggled to move along the new route.

The new route across a railway level crossing for buses and other heavy vehicles headed for BT Road from the Chitpore bridge proved to be effective except when the gates were down.

The Telegraph took a tour on Wednesday, a day after the new system was introduced, to check how things played out. Here are some of the findings

⚫Seven minutes to cover a 950m-stretch from Girish Avenue to Cossipore Road via the level crossing on Jagannath Ghat Road. Vehicles have to access Jagannath Ghat Road after turning left after crossing the Chitpore bridge in Bagbazar.

The travel time doubled when the gates at the level crossing were down.

⚫Heavy vehicles such as buses, minibuses and Matadors were diverted through this route. Lorries were diverted towards Strand Bank Road down Turner Road so that buses and minibuses could move faster.

⚫South-bound journey for buses and cars became smoother following the rejig. It took just six minutes to travel from Chiria More to the Chitpore bridge, via the Lockgate flyover.

⚫Travel time from the Chitpore bridge to Chiria More through Cossipore Road was 14 minutes.

Since early on Wednesday, police officers posted near the approach to Cossipore Road on Girish Avenue kept diverting buses and minibuses towards the level crossing. Another set of officers, posted at the approach to the Lockgate flyover on BT Road was directing vehicles headed for Shyambazar from north to the flyover.

Traffic was, however, slow on Cossipore Road. On a long stretch, between Chiria More and the point where Jagannath Ghat Road merges with Cossipore Road, buses, minibuses and smaller vehicles crawled because of inadequate road space.

The police were not allowing any vehicle to be parked illegally on the road and the Calcutta Municipal Corporation has repaired all dug-up portions but that hardly helped.

The right turn towards Chiria More from Bibibazar on Cossipore Road posed a challenge with goods vehicles from Strand Bank Road joining other vehicles that moved down Khagen Chatterjee Road, on which traffic moved in both directions, to reach Chiria More.

“Since the intersection of Khagen Chatterjee Road and Cossipore Road is not spacious enough for so many vehicles to make a right turn, traffic is moving slowly,” a police officer said.

Vehicles at the railway level crossing on Jagannath Ghat Road

“On Cossipore Road, autos are being allowed to ply in the direction opposite to that of other vehicles. That is another reason for the slowdown.”

With the Lockgate flyover left open to all Bagbazar-bound vehicles from BT Road, the traffic load on several roads including Dum Dum Road, Northern Avenue and RG Kar Road remained relatively low. These roads would usually be clogged throughout the day.

“Buses and other vehicles headed for the Shyambazar five-point crossing along the Belgachhia bridge moved relatively faster after the Lockgate flyover was opened to Bagbazar-bound vehicles,” said Sukumar Ghosh, a transport dealer with his office on RG Kar Road.

If Day I had any lesson for the police, it was the inconvenience caused to many motorists in the absence of enough signage or display boards. “By Friday, we will install enough display boards and signage,” said an officer managing traffic in Shyambazar.

Traffic on Cossipore Road was not smooth