Bascule bridge opens after temporary repair work

Kolkata: After temporary repair work, the bascule bridge in the Port area was opened for vehicular traffic on Thursday morning. However, it has been decided that until the faulty bearing gets repaired or replaced, heavy vehicles will not be allowed on the bridge.

According to sources, engineers of Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) were trying to repair the bearing which became faulty. As it could not be replaced immediately, it has been repaired temporarily. For that reason, KoPT is not allowing any heavy vehicles on the bridge as it may cause permanent damage.

Due to a technical glitch the bascule bridge couldn't be closed properly from Tuesday night, owing to which huge congestion took place. According to sources, late on Tuesday night the bridge was opened to pass a ship from Singapore. At around 2 am, after the ship crossed the area, on-duty Port Trust employees tried to close the bridge.

While doing so, it was noticed that it was not closed fully owing to misaligned sections. Immediately, vehicle movement on the bridge was suspended. Later, all Kidderpore-bound vehicles were diverted towards Taratala via Diamond Harbour Road.