Chingrighata work ends 2.5 hrs ahead of schedule

Kolkata: RVNL completed the Orange Line's Phase I bridging work at Chingrighata at 5am on Monday. The Ultadanga bound flank was opened to traffic at 5.30am, well before the scheduled 8am.Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL), the implementing agency of the Orange Line project, was finally allowed traffic block to close the Ultadanga-bound flank of the busy Chingrighata crossing from 8pm on Friday. The 60-hour block was granted for lifting a 28m concrete deck between the Orange Line's piers 317 and 318. A 366m viaduct (on which metro tracks are laid) gap is the last hurdle for the Orange Line reaching Sector V or the IT Centre station and meeting the Green Line (East-West Metro). The Orange Line which will eventually cover 32km from New Garia to Airport now runs 8km between New Garia and Beleghata station at EM Bypass' Metropolitan station. The next stop is Chingrighata where the Gour Kishor Ghosh station has been built.For the last 15 months, the work has been pending with the Kolkata Police holding back permission, and finally, on being prodded by the high court and the Supreme Court, agree to six nights' traffic block over two consecutive weekends.When the new BJP govt took over, a continuous 60-hour gap from Friday to Monday morning was allowed, after RVNL furnished an IIT-Guwahati report that pointed at compromise in constructional strength and safety hazard if work was done at night and traffic moved during the day.Making full use of the continuous block, RVNL was able to complete lifting all 10 concrete pieces, comprising the 28m viaduct between piers 317 and 318, by Saturday evening. The hard work paid – and the agency managed to complete the entire viaduct work between the two piers at Chingrighata and hand over the Ultadanga-bound flank at 5am. The stretch was opened for traffic movement from 5.30am.Another such traffic block will be enforced from 8pm next Friday, for another 60 hours, till 8am the subsequent Monday. The next concrete deck – between pier 318 and 319 – will cover 34 metres atop the Garia-bound flank of Chigrighata crossing. This way, 62 metres of the last 366m viaduct for the Orange Line to travel to Sector V, will be constructed. For the rest of the 288 metres, such traffic blocks will not be required.