Four new flyovers in Kolkata's New Town

Get ready to zip into the airport via New Town’s main artery. Four new flyovers are going to be built from junctions along this stretch that are prone to accidents. Construction will begin in a few months from now.Propelled by the state transport department, which keeps getting reports of road mishaps at New Town every other day, Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation (Hidco) has taken this urgent step to construct flyovers on four crowded crossings along the thoroughfare. The state government has sanctioned Rs 100 crore for the project and has just selected two consultants to draw up the design and a detailed project report (DPR) for the flyovers.Hidco convened an emergency meeting on the issue so that the flyovers’ project could be commissioned in the beginning of January. “We want to have uninterrupted traffic flow along New Town’s main thoroughfare. Of course, the frequent accidents have also been taken into consideration,” said Goutam Deb, Hidco chairman and state housing minister. “We have realised that unless the flyovers are built immediately, the future plans for New Town will be jeopardised,” he added.The flyovers have been lined up to be constructed on the main arterial road (MAR) in the following manner. The first one will come up on the MAR-Rajarhat Road crossing, the second on the Sixth Intersection where four roads meet, the third in the sub-central business district where at least four shopping malls are to be built in the next two years and the fourth on the Bagjola Bridge-Canal Bank Road crossing. As the toe of the bridge is always congested, the authorities have decided to build a flyover at its crossing with Canal Bank Road to join with MAR.“These flyovers were supposed to be built three years later. They were among the 16 flyovers in the master plan for Action Areas I and II of Rajarhat. But we have decided to execute the first phase immediately, given the rate of accidents at New Town,” said a transport department official.The other preoccupation, of course, is to keep the lifeline passing through New Town free for airport-bound traffic. Hidco has already issued letters of intent to prepare the DPR. The Delhi-based CRAFTS and Stup Consultant have been selected for the job. Hidco intends floating tenders as soon as the DPR is ready in about two months’ time.