Bidhannagar Police threw open the Bailey bridge connecting Dakshindari on VIP Road and Salt Lake’s AA Block for a trial run on Wednesday evening.
A senior police officer said the trial run was likely to continue for two or three days before a notification is issued, announcing how the bridge will be used.
The 42-metre bridge holds two lanes and can be used for a two-way commute — from VIP Road to Salt Lake and vice versa.
Salt Lake residents are also curious to know whether they will be able to take a right turn and go towards the airport after crossing the bridge from Salt Lake. This will significantly reduce their time to reach the airport. Now, they have to drive to the Ultadanga crossing and then drive down VIP Road to go towards the airport.
“We have initiated a trial run, which we plan to continue over the next two to three days to assess the traffic flow patterns that are most appropriate at diffident times of a day. We will issue a notification before the bridge is fully opened to traffic,” Murli Dhar Sharma, the commissioner of Bidhannagar City Police, told Metro on Wednesday.
“Whether the bridge will be two-way around the day or whether it will be one-way during different hours of the day is something that is being assessed during the trial run,” Sharma said.
The notification will mention how traffic will be allowed on the bridge and the date from which it be fully operational.
When Metro visited the Bailey bridge on Wednesday evening, two-way traffic was running on the bridge. Cars coming from Salt Lake were also allowed to take a right turn at the Dakshindari crossing and move towards the airport. A police officer said traffic was thin on the bridge on Wednesday evening and there was no problem in running the two-way traffic.
Police officers said if the volume of traffic increases manifold from Thursday, they might have to operate “tidal traffic”, which means only one-way traffic will be allowed at different times of the day.
“Usually, there is a bigger volume of traffic moving towards Calcutta during morning hours and in the opposite direction during the evening rush hours,” said a police
officer.
A trial run means the bridge may have to be shut down at times. “We will explore all options and assess the results,” said the officer.
Construction of the bridge began in late October 2025 and cost ₹6.22 crore. The Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) had aimed to complete it by the end of 2025, but operational issues delayed the deadline by over a month, said a KMDA official.
It is the second Bailey bridge across the canal separating VIP Road from Salt Lake. The other one-way bridge connects Kestopur with Salt Lake.