Vidyasagar Setu will remain closed to traffic from 6am to 2pm on Sunday for the replacement of the structure’s cables and bearings, police said on Thursday.

A notification issued by Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nand stated that the partial traffic closure was “necessary in the interest of the public and convenience for the replacement of the stay and holding down cables and bearings of the second Hooghly bridge”.

Stay cables are the ones visible to motorists taking the bridge. There are 152 of them, arranged in a fan-like arrangement using steel pylons.

“These cables are vital for the bridge because they help the ones on the top to hold the tension of the entire structure,” a senior engineer of the Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners (HRBC), which maintains the structure, said.

Police officers said necessary diversion plans have been worked out in collaboration with Howrah City Police. All concerned traffic guards have been informed to put up banners to notify motorists about the closure timings of the bridge on Sunday.

Vehicles coming from Alipore towards the Setu will be diverted towards the Hastings crossing and then directed to move along Strand Road and further north towards Howrah bridge.

According to the diversion plan, which has been worked out, vehicles headed for the bridge from Kidderpore Road will be diverted from 11 Furlong Gate towards the Hastings crossing and then made to move down Strand Road towards Howrah bridge.

Small and heavy vehicles headed for the Setu along Circular Garden Reach Road will be diverted from the Hastings crossing towards St George’s Gate Road and Strand Road.

“Vehicular traffic will also be diverted through arterial roads as and when required,” read the notification.

The second Hooghly bridge is the country’s longest cable-stayed bridge.

The innermost layer of the cables consists of non-galvanised cables, and the outer layer is made of rubber.