Vidyasagar Setu, popularly known as 2 the Hooghly Bridge, connects the twin cities of Kolkata and Howrah and is used by hundreds of commuters daily for various activities. The bridge is currently undergoing repair and maintenance work. In this connection, it will remain closed for vehicular movement on January 2 and January 9, 2024, between 1:00 – 3:00. Diversions will be affected on those dates after midnight. Traffic, except trucks, would be allowed to resume by 3:30 or earlier.
Trucks would be rerouted through Nivedita Setu while other vehicles would be allowed to take Howrah Bridge. This closure is necessary to enable the replacement of stay-and-holding-down cables of the bridge and associated bearings. The repair and maintenance work is being carried out by the engineers of Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners (HRBC). This is the second complete shutdown of Vidyasagar Setu in recent times, the previous one having been on December 20.
Comprehensive Plan For Vehicular Movement During The Period Of Work
According to sources, the decision for repair and maintenance work on an urgent basis was made to ensure structural integrity and to replace as many as 16 ‘holding down’ cables. The ongoing work that began in November is expected to take up to four months to be completed. During such time, a comprehensive plan drawn up by the authorities for vehicular movement would be applied to all vehicles using the bridge.
Popular Route With Heavy Number Of Vehicles Using It Daily
The Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners (HRBC) office is a statutory organization under the Department of Transport (West Bengal) established in 1969 for the construction of Vidyasagar Setu. The bridge itself was inaugurated in 1992 and
remains the longest cable-stayed bride in India. HRBC is responsible for the maintenance of Vidyasagar Setu which has approximately 50000 vehicular traffic movement over it on a daily basis.
Bengali