Kolkata: The West Bengal government will spend Rs 200 crore for the total renovation and maintenance of the Vidyasagar Setu or the second Hooghly Bridge.
Started 33 years ago in October 1992, this bridge supports one lakh vehicles crossing it daily.
It is the second most important road connection between Kolkata and Howrah after the Howrah Bridge. The Vidyasagar Setu has gained further importance after the shifting of the State Secretariat to Nabanna in Howrah.
The entire repair and maintenance responsibility has been granted to the German firm Schlaich Bergermann & Partner.
Experts in bridge architecture, this firm has been working with the PWD Department to repair different parts of the bridge over the last year.
Now the form is proceeding to repair 20 more stay cables that are dragging the bridge upwards. They have already completed the repair work for 16 holding-down cables.
This is the riskiest procedure for the entire process. Therefore, the state government, along with HRBC and Kolkata Police, is sitting together to discuss all preventive safety measures to be adopted.
When the work was going on, the 16 holding down cables, only two lanes were closed down for vehicular traffic. The remaining 4 lanes were working at the same time.
The 152 stay cables and the 16 holding down cables ensure the cables above can hold the tension of the entire bridge structure, and the deck remains stable to bear the vehicular load.
The stay cable repair might involve closure of several lanes as well as stopping the plying of trucks.
After the stay cables are repaired, the bearings will be changed in the 823 m bridge. During that time, all vehicles need to be stopped for 12 hours for a few days. The total repair process will take 15 months.
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