The construction of a four-lane expressway connecting New Town to Barasat through Madhyamgram has started.
The expressway is being built as a shorter route for the rest of the city to visit places like Madhyamgram, Barasat and subsequently the NH12, earlier known as NH34.
Now motorists from the city headed towards NH12 have to rely on VIP Road and Jessore Road to go to Barasat.
The highway stretches around 421km and connects Barasat with Dalkhola in North Dinajpur. It also serves as the main connector to north Bengal for city vehicles.
To get on to the new expressway motorists from Salt Lake and New Town will have to drive straight from the Akankha More keeping the New Town automobile hub on the left. After driving for 1.5km they will have to take a right and go to St Joan’s School Newtown.
From there the four-lane highway is a straight drive for around 6km till Doltala in Madhyamgram. To drive to Barasat and subsequently to NH 12 motorists again will have to take Jessore Road.
On Friday, Metro saw labourers and earth movers dump sand in front of St Joan’s School and the 217 bus stand in Rajarhat.
A senior official of Hidco , which builds and manages infrastructure in New Town, said this road will reduce travel time between Barasat and New Town by at least 25
minutes.
This road spans around 8km and is a shorter route, the official said.
The state public works department is building the four-lane expressway.
A senior official of the public works department said that the initial plan had included a couple of service lanes as well but there are several encroachments because of which the service lanes are not being constructed as of now.
“We are going to construct the expressway that will have four lanes. Later, if it is possible, a service lane on each side will be added,” said the official.
A New Town resident said that the new expressway will be a boon for many like him as it will cut down on travel time to places like Madhyamgram and Barasat and NH 12.
The road had been commissioned more than a decade ago but the plan hit several roadblocks as around 80 families had been staying in tenements along the route, a public works department official said.
The new road is expected to be completed within this year.
