Kolkata: The Orange Line achieved a major milestone by bridging the 62-meter viaduct gap over the busy Chingrighata crossing early on Sunday morning. This critical phase of the New Garia-Airport corridor was completed after a continuous day-night traffic block that began on Friday night.
Phase II Completion
Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL), the implementing agency, successfully placed 12 concrete segments across the 34-meter gap between piers 318 and 319 around 7 am on Sunday. The work at this congested EM Bypass intersection had been stalled since February 2, 2025, due to difficulties in securing traffic blocks from Kolkata Police. RVNL had previously requested a full closure of the crossing, offering a 500-meter-long alternative road for traffic diversion.
Traffic Block Details
With the new state government in power, Kolkata Police granted a 60-hour continuous traffic block in two phases over two weekends. Prior to this, following directives from the High Court and Supreme Court, the police had allowed only 27-hour blocks over two weekend nights. RVNL submitted an IIT-Guwahati report highlighting construction stability and safety risks if work was left incomplete overnight and traffic resumed during the day.
The Garia-bound flank, which was closed from 8:30 pm on Friday, is scheduled to reopen to traffic at 5 am on Monday, three hours ahead of the original schedule, according to police sources.
Technical Execution
Phase I of the Orange Line viaduct, where tracks are laid, was completed earlier, and the eastern flank of Chingrighata crossing opened two-and-a-half hours ahead of time last Monday. For Phase II, RVNL engineers, led by chief project manager Vipin Kumar (also executive director), worked through the night. The concrete segments were first aligned and adhesive applied. After three hours, when the glue had hardened, the segments were tied with steel strands over six hours, followed by stressing to maximum tension.
The successful completion of this gap marks a significant step forward for the Orange Line, which will connect New Garia to the airport, easing congestion on the EM Bypass.
