Real estate in Tollygunge, a prime locality in South Kolkata, will get a major boost after efforts by the State Government to lower congestion and ease commuting for residents in the area and beyond. The State Government has been engaged in drawing up the blueprint for setting up two Bailey Bridges running over Tolly’s Nullah or the Adi Ganga. This is aimed at lowering traffic congestion throughout New Alipore and Behala among surrounding localities.
One of the Bailey Bridges will connect Narendra Nath Ghosh Lane and Mahatma Gandhi Road while the other bridge will link Canal Road and Izzatullah Lane. The Bailey Bridge will run parallel to the Tollygunge Karunamoyee Bridge around 1.5 km apart from it and this will open for traffic in December 2018 itself. The other bridge is expected to be completely ready by January 2019.
A Bailey Bridge is a structure that is pre-fabricated and portable and has modular assembly features. These bridges have always been a preferred choice for the Indian Army for filling the gaps in connectivity in areas which are remote or otherwise unreachable. The Urban Development Minister, Firhad Hakim, has stated that alternative means should be given to vehicles which are going to various parts of Kolkata from Joka, Behala and nearby locations.
The Minister has already visited the two sites for the bridges with CMDA (Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority) engineers and representatives from GRSE (Garden Reach Ship Builders and Engineers) and work is already underway. This new move will lower traffic load on the Tollygunge and Karunamoyee Bridges which are reeling under the pressure of huge traffic ever since the collapse of the Majerhat Bridge. Similar Bailey bridges have also been built over the Chetla Canal after the collapse of the Majerhat Bridge, linking Humayun Kabir Sarani at New Alipore with Alipore Avenue.
As per the initial blueprint, vehicles going to Tollygunge from Behala and Joka can take the new bridge in the peak hours in the morning. In the evening, Behala/Joka bound vehicles can go on the bridge. Land will be sought from the Tollygunge Club for widening the KP Roy Lane as per the Minister. Izzatullah Lane will help commuters come to the bridge from the eastern side and this is linked to the KP Roy Lane which goes to the Deshpran Sashmal Road behind the Tollygunge Club. Tollygunge is already witnessing the development of several premium projects like Merlin Verve, Eden Tolly Greenwood, Shankh Mani and others.
