The wait of over two years to drive down Tallah bridge ended on Saturday morning when police removed the guardrails allowing small vehicles to take the new bridge.
Around 9.50am, the bridge was opened to vehicles after senior police officers from Lalbazar instructed the local police station and traffic guard to start vehicular movement, much ahead of the proposed formal opening on Saturday midnight.
The carriageway of the bridge was cleared and pedestrians were asked to move away, to the surprise of many commuters who were gearing up to take the circuitous route to reach Shyambazar from BT Road.
“We were waiting at the traffic signal to take the Lockgate flyover when police officers on duty said the Tallah bridge has been opened and we could either head straight or take the flyover on the right,” said Shyamal Basu Roy, a resident of Gopal Lal Tagore Road in Baranagar.
Almost all the cars at the signal decided to move towards Tallah bridge.
“The total width of the new bridge is 20 metres against 13 metres of the old one. This will ensure faster draining out of vehicles,” said a senior engineer of the Public Works Department (PWD), which is responsible for the upkeep of the structure that stands over the railway tracks in Tallah.
The load-bearing capacity of the new structure is at least 100 tonnes more than the old one, engineers said. The state government has, however, decided against allowing heavy vehicles to use the bridge now.
Senior PWD officials said buses would start plying on the bridge from September 29.
“The exact impact would be felt on Monday when office goers use the bridge,” said a police officer.
