One of the 14 stay cables marked for replacement in the first phase of Vidyasagar Setu’s overhaul was replaced during last weekend’s nine-hour traffic closure. The full overhaul of the country’s longest cable-stayed bridge, which connects Calcutta and Howrah, is expected to take at least another year and will require periodic traffic closures.

The bridge, also known as the Second Hooghly Bridge, was inaugurated in October 1992 and has since undergone intermittent repairs. However, the state government recently commissioned a detailed overhaul based on recommendations from national structural experts and a French company involved in the original cable installation.

The bridge’s structure features two types of cables: 152 visible stay cables arranged in a fan-like pattern using steel pylons, and 16 holding-down cables located beneath the two sets of piers at each end of the bridge, hidden from motorists’ view. The holding-down cables provide essential support, maintaining tension on the visible stay cables to ensure structural stability amid the heavy daily traffic flow.

A senior official from the Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners (HRBC), the body responsible for the bridge’s upkeep, explained: “Forty-five of the 152 stay cables have been identified for replacement, with 14 scheduled for the initial phase.”

The replacement of the first cable is complete, and all 14 are expected to be replaced in the next months, the official said.

The HRBC has already completed the replacement of all 16 holding-down cables. These cables play a vital role in balancing the tension in the bridge’s structure and are crucial for its overall strength and durability. “The combination of holding-down cables below and stay cables above is what enables the bridge to withstand constant vehicular loads,” said a senior HRBC engineer managing the repair work.

Alongside cable replacement, the overhaul will also include the replacement of the bridge’s bearings — key structural components situated between the bridge deck and its supports, which transfer loads from the superstructure to the substructure. The Setu has about 30 such bearings, with only two replaced so far. “Each bearing replacement takes approximately 16 hours, during which the bridge must be closed to all traffic,” the engineer said.

“The overhauling work will continue at least until December 2026,” the engineer added.

Senior Kolkata Police officers said that further traffic diversions and closures are expected, with another closure anticipated in the first week of November to facilitate ongoing cable replacement work. Commuters should expect vehicle rerouting during these periods, they said.

The bridge, which took over 22 years to complete with the supervision of engineers from Freeman Fox and Partners, and Bharat Bhari Udyog Nigam Limited, currently carries nearly 1,00,000 vehicles daily across the Hooghly.

The total estimated cost for this extensive overhaul is around ₹256 crore. Officials said that over the next few months, they will hold a series of coordination meetings with senior officers from Howrah City Police and Kolkata Police before deciding on future traffic closures of the bridge.