The 90-year-old Zeerut bridge near Alipore zoo, through which vehicles from Alipore Road ply towards AJC Bose Road, is too weak to bear vehicular load anymore and needs to be pulled down, a report has said.

The government, after going through the report, has decided to build a bridge next to the Zeerut bridge before pulling the down structure.

Once the new bridge is ready, the Zeerut bridge will be taken down, repaired and reinstalled if it becomes strong enough to take the weight of vehicles.

The bridge on Tolly’s Nullah, built in 1929 and re-christened Ma Saradamoni Setu by Mamata Banerjee, came under the scanner after the collapse of the Majherhat bridge on September 4 last year.

The government decided to review the stability of a number of bridges and flyovers across Calcutta after the collapse. The Zeerut bridge was inspected by RITES, a central government agency.

A concrete bridge that has come up next to the Zeerut bridge — to its east — takes vehicles from AJC Bose towards Alipore or Hazra Road. The new bridge will be built to the west of the older bridge.

While surveying the site, officials of the irrigation department realised that a one-acre plot belonging to the army would be required for the new bridge.

A joint inspection was carried out by representatives of the army, irrigation department and the Calcutta police. The state government followed it up by sending a reminder to the defence estates under the eastern command on April 27.

Sources at Nabanna said the irrigation secretary had written to the defence ministry seeking its permission to use the land for the construction of the bridge.

“The final clearance has to come from Delhi,” an officer in the defence estates said.

“The tender for the proposed bridge has been floated. The project cost is around Rs 5.6 crore and it would take around 10 months for the new bridge to come up,” an official in the irrigation department said.

“Around an acre will be required from the army for the new bridge. We will soon meet senior officers of the army estates in Delhi.”

The report by RITES mentions that the Zeerut bridge has outlived its age and signs of fatigue are apparent. “A part of the steel structure supporting the carriageway from above has taken a dent and the steel beams are unable bear the load of vehicles anymore,” an official said.

Engineers of the department have taken some “remedial” measures.

“The layers of bitumen that had accumulated on the deck slab over the years have been scrapped off to reduce the load on the structure. This was followed by some repairs on the steel structures, including the joints. Some small steel channels have been replaced,” the official said.