Kolkata: Metro work, rain pain for Majerhat bridge – Times of India

KOLKATA: When the new-look Majerhat Bridge was thrown open to public last year, it brought a huge relief to those living in New Alipore, Behala and beyond as it provided an easy alternative to travel to the city centre. The two dedicated lanes in each flank were able to soak the pressure that otherwise was a major challenge on this bridge. But the Metro construction on the very important Joka-Esplanade corridor has slowed down the traffic speed significantly after the easing of Covid restrictions.
This is especially true after the rains when there is an explosion of two-wheelers and four-wheelers and traffic jams find their tails going back to the Mint on one side and Mominpore on the other. To tackle the rush, the southwest traffic guard has hit upon an unique plan that has already started paying dividends. Police are now prioritizing vehicle movement. While vehicles headed to Mominpore get preference during morning rush hours, those headed to Behala get priority in the evening.
“In simple words, we are stopping vehicles on the less chaotic non-office traffic flank at a particular point in between Mominpore and the Remount Road crossing-Burdwan Road crossing. We are then allowing morning office time vehicles headed to the city centre to use both the up and down flanks for a specific time. This helps us reduce the tail of the Mominpore-bound flank after which traffic on the other flank is restored,” explained an officer.

A TOI team found the experiment being carried both on Monday and Tuesday. TOI found sergeants stopping Behala-bound traffic at Remount Road crossing and allowing vehicles from Behala to use both flanks on either side of the Metro construction area. Bus passengers TOI spoke to said that sometimes these blockades are taken at Mominpore itself. In those instances, both flanks of Majerhat Bridge are used to clear traffic rush and stop the tail from reaching the Taratala Bridge.
Sources at Lalbazar said a lot of traffic study had gone into this preparation. “The Metro helped us a lot. We asked them to reduce the pavement size on the Ordnance Factory side and extend the road. They obliged. We wanted Metro to ensure the road opening towards Mominpore (once vehicles got off Majerhat Bridge) remained bigger than the width of the two flanks on the bridge. They gave us the measurements well in time and helped us. As a result, even if vehicles are slowing down, traffic is not getting stagnant,” said an officer.
Police sources though said they dreaded three situations — the time right after the rain holds up, the resultant waterlogging near Bodyguard Lines after rain and the scheduled opening of the Bascule bridge. “All three situations lead to traffic accumulating at the crossing, upsetting all our calculations. The huge jump in two-wheelers in the city is another concern,” explained an officer.
Lalbazar hinted that it planned to ask all vehicles from Mominpore and Ekbalpore to take the Alipore Road-Burdwan Road so that only one-way movement is allowed once the Metro construction reaches closer to Mominpore from Remount Road crossing. “As for now, we will continue with our fouls to control traffic,” chuckled an officer.