A 2km link road off BT Road, skirting Rabindra Bharati University and leading to Dum Dum Road, is being readied to divert smaller vehicles for reducing traffic load on BT Road.
Since the Tallah bridge was shut and later pulled down, most of the Calcutta-bound traffic from Dunlop gets diverted from Chiria More towards Dum Dum station, making it one of the most congested intersections in north Calcutta.
Buses, minibuses, trucks, vans, cars and two-wheelers move down Dum Dum Road further up and then take a circuitous route to reach Belgachia before arriving at Shyambazar.
Once the road — popularly known as Phoolbagan link road — is thrown open, cars and two wheelers will be able to avoid the congestion at the Chiria More intersection and reach Dum Dum Road faster.
The need to reduce the load on BT Road was felt after officers managing traffic witnessed a manifold rise in the number of two wheelers and cars along BT Road during the pandemic.
After several rounds of survey police realised that the link road could be an alternative. But it had to be cleared of illegal settlers and parking lots on either side. A few days back work of clearing the settlers began. The cops said it would take a few more weeks to make the stretch motorable.
“A considerable stretch has been cleared. The bituminous top needs to be laid and a high mast light has to be installed,” said Arijit Sinha, the deputy commissioner of police overseeing traffic management in Calcutta. “Hopefully, we will be able to throw it open before Puja.”
The link road will take vehicles towards east before leading to the Seven Tanks Lane that connects to Dum Dum Road.
