The Taratala flyover on Diamond Harbour Road will remain closed to traffic from 3.30pm on Saturday to 11.59pm on Tuesday — nearly four days — to facilitate a load test of the structure.

A notification issued by Kolkata Police and the PWD on Friday said that vehicles headed north of Behala and Thakurpukur can use the Karunamoyee bridge near Tollygunge or Biren Roy Road West.

Vehicles heading towards Behala and further south can use the Durgapur bridge,
Hide Road, Nalini Ranjan Avenue, or the Karunamoyee bridge.

“The load test will be carried out on three spans of the flyover, covering both flanks. The results will be noted, and a team of structural experts will recommend measures based on the test data,” a senior PWD official said.

Built to ease traffic on Diamond Harbour Road, the Taratala flyover was inaugurated in 2006 after almost three years of work, marked by delays due to a fund crunch.

The 540 metre flyover has been under the scanner of engineers and structural experts for years since it developed cracks. In July 2010, the Behala-bound flank of the flyover had to be shut after cracks emerged.

Again in April 2022, the flyover was closed to Behala-bound vehicles for a few days after cracks developed. A month later, in May, potholes on the same flank had forced police to shut traffic for several hours.

“There is no problem with the structure now. A load test will help ascertain the flyover’s capacity,” the PWD official said.