A new one-way road is being constructed at the Haldiram crossing on VIP Road in Kolkata to facilitate the construction of the last two piers of the Orange Line on the New Garia-Airport corridor, officials said on Tuesday. This road is expected to resolve a long-standing roadblock that has delayed the project for years.
Details of the New Road
The 175-meter-long, 9-meter-wide road will connect VIP Road and Chinar Park and is expected to be completed by next month. Once ready, the Bidhannagar police will grant a 45-day traffic block to Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) to complete the portal piers P816 and P817 adjacent to the Haldiram flyover.
RVNL has already built one leg of each of the two two-legged portal piers. However, work on the road below the flyover could not begin earlier because the police were unable to proceed due to the Public Works Department (PWD), the custodian of VIP Road, being unwilling to hand over the green patch underneath the Haldiram flyover where the new road would be built. Now that the No Objection Certificate (NoC) has been granted, Afcons is constructing the new road.
Construction Process
After the legs of the pillars are built, a pile cap—the main part of the pillar—will be constructed, followed by the pier cap. The viaduct will then be placed on the pier caps. Officials estimate that it will take three months to complete the two pillars.
Afcons is building the Orange Line's last 3.5-kilometer section from City Centre II in New Town to the airport. The mostly elevated tracks will go underground 850 meters before the airport and will be joined by a ramp coming up at Kaikhali. The pillars need to be two-legged to accommodate the curve above the Haldiram flyover.
Complexity and Cooperation
"Building the two pillars at Haldiram crossing, where Biswa Bangla Sarani (New Town) meets VIP Road, is complex. Active cooperation from the state was needed," an official said. Work is progressing rapidly, and the new road between VIP Road and Chinar Park will be ready well before the monsoon season. A traffic trial will be conducted when the road is ready, after which the existing carriageway where the two pillars are coming up will be closed. All vehicles will be diverted along this new road.
The Orange Line's last 3.5-kilometer section from City Centre II to the airport has missed several deadlines in the past. With this new development, the project is expected to move forward smoothly.
