KOLKATA: The closure of the Ruby-bound ramp of Maa flyover for replacing its bearings triggered a traffic bottleneck at the Park Circus seven-point crossing and its adjacent roads on Tuesday.
The Ruby-bound ramp was closed for traffic from early morning as the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) worked to replace six bearings of the ramp. The ramp will reopen at 6am on April 27.
This traffic diversion created congestion on the Ultadanga-bound flank of EM Bypass from Science City to Metropolitan crossing as it took more than 20 minutes for motorists coming from Science City end to cross Metropolitan crossing.
“Today was the first day of the traffic diversion and motorists will get adjusted with it in a day or two,” a traffic sergeant said.
A bearing of a flyover or bridge structure is a resting surface between the deck slab and piers which helps to shift vehicular load from the superstructure in the top to the sub-structure in the bottom. “This helps reduce stress on the overall flyover structure,” said a structural engineer, adding that though a bridge bearing lasts for many years, with ever increasing vehicular load, the bearings should be ideally replaced every 10-15 years.
Though Maa flyover was inaugurated only about three and half years ago, KMDA officials felt that the increasing heavy vehicle pressure necessitated the Ruby-bound ramp to be strengthened.
