Orange Line: Traffic trials begin at Technopolis

Kolkata: Cops have started traffic trials to facilitate construction of the other half of Nabadiganta Metro station of the New Garia-Airport corridor. The diversion of the airport-bound traffic through an 11m wide barricaded lane at New Town’s Technopolis crossing should be in place for the next six months.
Implementing agency Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) may be given the traffic block from Tuesday.This is the second phase of the traffic block required for building the metro station. Salt Lake-bound vehicles are already being diverted through a service lane in front of the Technopolis building as another 11m in the middle of Biswa Bangla Sarani has been barricaded for the metro station work.

The current traffic trials at the entrance to New Town will continue till Monday for cops to study movement of airport-bound cars and those to and from Sector V on the first day of the week.
“The diversions will continue for the next six months, and provided there are no hiccups, RVNL may be given the NOC to start piling work for construction of the other part of the metro station,” an official of the Bidhannagar Police said on Sunday.
The RVNL has created a 11m by 170m road space to compensate for the same space that has been barricaded in the middle of Technopolis crossing.
In August last year, Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL), which is implementing the 29km New Garia-Airport or the Orange Line, was given the site at Technopolis to make way for the Nabadiganta metro station. Another 11m by 180m section of Biswa Bangla Sarani has since been cordoned off and Salt Lake or Kolkata-bound vehicles are being diverted through the service road in front of Technopolis building and the airport-bound flank was entirely free.
RVNL was supposed to seek the second phase of the traffic block, this time for the airport-bound road, after completing two columns of the Metro station. Since April this year it has been asking for the airport-bound flank because the two columns of the Metro station have been completed.
Initially, there were a lot of traffic snarls when hectic metro construction began at the crucial crossing at New Town’s entrance. Vehicular movement was also slow. But now, even after cordoning off another section, the traffic seemed to be flowing normally.
“Tomorrow will be a crucial day. Hopefully, cars will ply smoothly and we can get the NOC for working at the site,” a Railways official said.