Airport traffic rejig: Police shifting bus counters, planning new entry lane

Kolkata: The Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate has begun shifting long-distance bus counters and pick-up points from Jessore Road and proposed a dedicated entry channel to the airport to ease congestion, particularly during peak evening hours. Bus counters operating between Airport Gate 1 and Gate 2 are being relocated to a vacant plot along the VIP Road, about 100 metres before the No. 1 Gate crossing and opposite the airport entry road. The site, beside a wide service lane, will allow buses to wait without blocking the main carriageway. Around 70 percent of the work has been completed. Makwana Meetkumar Sanjaykumar, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Bidhannagar, said long-distance buses were narrowing an already constricted stretch. “That portion can hold seven to eight buses at a time. Even one bus standing on the main road was affecting traffic flow,” he said. Traffic from VIP Road towards Gate 1, Barasat-bound vehicles and flow from Nagerbazar converge on Jessore Road, where six lanes taper into two. Between 6.30 pm and 9.30 pm, buses queuing near the Gurdwara stretch slowed movement on both Jessore Road and VIP Road, affecting airport-bound traffic from Ultadanga and adjoining areas. Police have also proposed a single-lane entry channel for vehicles approaching from the Nagerbazar side by removing part of the green verge. Vehicles will be able to turn left from VIP Road and merge with the existing airport entry road used by traffic from the 2.5 No. Gate side, reducing informal merging and waiting time. The changes are linked to construction of the New Garia–Airport Metro corridor. The existing “45 cut-out” between Kaikhali and 1 No. Airport will be shifted about 100 metres towards the 1 No. Airport side as it falls within the metro alignment. Once the new cut-out is operational, vehicles from the Nagerbazar side will no longer access the earlier right turn towards the flyover. The new cut-out will be positioned about 5–10 metres beyond the start of the flyover approach. Instead, vehicles will take a designated left turn near the airport exit that meets VIP Road and enter through the new dedicated lane. “With metro work progressing, some disturbance is expected. As a preventive measure, we are re-modifying the traffic island so that vehicles can turn more freely. We have also identified a contingency route that can be used in case of disruption,” the Deputy Commissioner said.