In an attempt to ease traffic in the Behala area which has been severely affected following the collapse of the Majerhat bridge, the state government has decided to set up new two bridges.

The first bridge would come up near Karunamoyee bridge and would be ready by December this year. The second bridge would be along DL Shah Road and will be ready by January 2019.

The designs and the detailed project reports for both the bridges are ready, said state urban development and municipal affairs minister Firad Hakim after inspecting the two sites this morning.

“The two bridges will be of immense help to the residents of Behala and Thakurpukur area. Ever since the Majerhat bridge collapsed the load on Durgapur bridge has increased immensely. The situation will be better once the proposed two bridges are ready,” said Mr Hakim.

Officials of Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE) were also present on Thursday along with the engineers of Kolkata Municipal Development Authority (KMDA), which is the implementing agency for the two bridges.

According to Mr Hakim, the locations of the two bridges are such that no relocation or rehabilitation would be required for anybody. The Tolly Club has agreed to provide a part of the land which will be required for setting up the second bridge, he added.

The exact cost is yet to be estimated but it would be somewhat similar to the cost of the Bailey bridge that has recently been set up in Majerhat, Mr Hakim said.

A Bailey bridge is a temporary structure formed of prefabricated, interchangeable, steel panels bolted together.

The Bailey bridge and a new level-crossing connecting Behala and Alipore were inaugurated before the Durga puja and became operational from 13 October. Cars and light vehicles are being allowed on this bridge.

The opening of the Bailey bridge has facilitated traffic movement from New Alipore’s G Block to Taratala area of the south Kolkata neighbourhood. Vehicles from New Alipore’s Humayun Kabir Sarani or NR Avenue are able to take this route, cross the level crossing, and reach Mominpur or Esplanade areas via Alipore Avenue and Raja Santosh Road.

Again, the state government had sought permission from the Railways to set up another level crossing parallel to the Majerhat bridge which was turned down because of technical reasons.

“The distance between the starter signal at Majerhat station and the advanced starter signal is too small for the railways to set up a level crossing. Our safety protocol does not permit such a deviation,” a railway official had said.

As an alternative, the state government constructed a walkway adjacent to the Majerhat bridge on the Chetla canal. Hume pipes have been placed and its upper portion has been concretised.