Chingrighata flyover cracks: KMDA to seek 3rd party opinion

Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) will seek a third-party opinion regarding the Chingrighata flyover after cracks were detected between two pillars.

“Engineers from the state Public Works department (PWD) or IIT Kharagpur will be asked to do a health study on the flyover, before taking a final call on whether repair and retrofitting work will suffice for this flyover. Safety of the people is our top priority,” a senior official of KMDA said.

State Urban Development minister Firhad Hakim who is also the chairman of KMDA chaired a meeting in the presence of principal secretary of UD department Khalil Ahmed, KMDA CEO Vijay Bharti and other senior officials at the state Assembly on Wednesday where the decision of seeking third party opinion was taken.

Retrofitting work is presently going on in the 600-metre flyover that connects Salt Lake with EM Bypass.

Experts after examining the bridge in September 2018 opined that the blueprint of the Chingrighata bridge that was constructed during the rule of the Left Front was faulty.

They felt that the bridge was not strong enough to withstand the constant plying of heavy vehicles.

Buses and loaded trucks have since been not allowed to ply in the bridge and only small vehicles like cars with a restricted speed limit are allowed. Height bars were also put on the bridge.

The six-member committee led by Amitabha Ghosal, a senior consultant on bridges and structures that was set up by the government for assessment of the bridges and flyovers in the city post the caving in of Majerhat Bridge in September 2018 had suggested a long-term solution in case of Chingrighata.