The Kidderpore flyover, which connects the racecourse to Garden Reach in west Kolkata, will remain shut for a few days from Friday to facilitate a ‘load test’, which will assess the stability of the structure that was opened in 2007.
The 550m-long flyover will remain shut to traffic from 10pm on Friday to 5am on February 1, police said on Thursday. All vehicles headed for Garden Reach along the flyover will be directed down the old Kidderpore steel bridge, Circular Garden Reach Road and the Kidderpore crossing.
“It has been nearly 15 years since the flyover was built. We need to assess the condition of the structure and check its load-bearing capacity,” said an official of the Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners (HRBC), the custodian of the flyover.
HRBC engineers said they would conduct two types of tests on the bridge. In the static test, engineers will find out the horizontal pressure of wind that tries to push the bridge sideways. In the dynamic test, they will measure the oscillation of the structure under the impact of the vertical wind pressure.
“The tests are necessary to find out whether the bridge needs thorough overhauling or cosmetic repairs to increase its lifespan,” the HRBC official said.
Unlike other flyovers, the one in Kidderpore has three lanes, instead of four, because of space constraints. So, vehicles move in only one direction through the flyover, from Hastings towards Diamond Harbour Road.
Over the years, this movement has helped reduce the vehicle load on the old Kidderpore steel bridge, engineers said, justifying the construction of the flyover.
