The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has proposed to construct another bridge over the Mahananda river as a part of the Asian Highway 2 in Siliguri to decongest traffic on the highway.
On Monday, officials of the NHAI met mayor Gautam Deb at the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) office. During the meeting, they proposed that a second bridge over the river at Kawakhali which is on the southern side of the city, was needed for a smooth flow of traffic on the AH2.
The AH2 connects Panitanki, which is on the India-Nepal border, with Fulbari, which is on the India-Bangladesh border.
The highway passes through the northeast and southern outskirts of Siliguri, and over a bridge on the Mahananda, which connects Kawakhali with Thakur Panchanan Chowk, before heading for Fulbari.
“The NHAI is planning to construct a bridge on the Mahananda at Kawakhali. It will be parallel to the existing bridge at the site. On Monday, officials of NHAI told us that the bridge is required to ease traffic movement on AH2,” Deb said after the meeting.
“They will submit a proposal in writing soon to us and other concerned authorities, and want to start the construction work within the current financial year. We will shortly make a joint visit to the site with officials of the state PWD, representatives of SMC, and members of the adjoining rural bodies,” he added.
Kawakhali is in the Matigara-I panchayat under the Matigara block of the Siliguri subdivision. Thakur Panchanan Chowk, the junction of Burdwan Road and AH2, comes under ward 31 of the SMC. Sources say the existing bridge is around 500 metres long. Six bridges over the Mahananda are currently in and around Siliguri, and construction of another bridge is in progress as a part of the NH10 in the northeast
of the city.
“The proposed bridge will be the eighth one over the river,” said an official of SMC.
An administrative official pointed out that AH2 is now one of the key routes for the movement of VIPs, including chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
“Unlike other stretches of the AH2, there is traffic congestion along the Kawakhali-Thakur Panchahan Chowk stretch because of the two-lane bridge. The VIPs who head for other districts Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Cooch Behar and even Assam from Bagdogra take this route. If a new bridge comes up, it will help to smooth vehicular movement,” the official said.