Kolkata: The newly constructed cable-stayed Majerhat Bridge in the city is expected to be thrown open to public early next month after the completion of load testing, a senior official of the state PWD department said on Friday.
A portion of the bridge, that connected the city to Behala area and beyond, had collapsed on September 4,2018, killing two persons.
Following the collapse, the entire structure on Diamond Harbour Road was demolished to build the new cable-stayed bridge.
Work for laying bitumen on the new bridge is on in full swing and it will be completed by this week-end, the official said.
The structure has also got its coat of paint.
"As soon as the laying of bitumen is over, we will seek clearance from the Railway authorities to conduct the load test on the bridge," the official said.
The ROB portion of the bridge falls within the Eastern Railway and load testing has to be cleared by the zonal railway.
"Almost all work has been done. Now we have to conduct load testing, which is a crucial aspect of construction. It is the final step before the structure can be thrown open for public. We are targeting early December and are quite hopeful about it," the official said.
Load testing will hopefully be over before the last week of November, he said.
The load tests, which will be conducted over a period of three to four days, are necessary to check the strength of the cable-stayed spans and any possible deviation, the official said. with agency inputs