Making best use of the lockdown, Metro Railway Kolkata has started de-launching the abandoned Circular Rail girders on the busy stretch of Jessore Road and VIP Road for making room for Noapara-Airport metro viaduct. Till yesterday eight such girders were removed.
There are about 100 girders stretching over Jessore Road. Metro Railway, the executing agency of the Noapara-Airport Extension Project, required dismantling the Circular railway viaduct for executing the metro project along this alignment. Airport will be a major hub for the metro, where two lines, Noapara – Airport and New Garia – Airport will have an interface at the underground level.
One 600 MT capacity crane was deployed to remove these abandoned structures along this stretch. On Thursday one such girder was de-launched successfully. Elaborate arrangements like removing road signal posts, telephone and electric cables, roadside railings etc. on this stretch were made.
In order to protect the road surface, about 300 mm thick layer silver sand has been spread on this road before movement of the crane. Now, the viaduct of the new lines of Metro Railway from Dum Dum Cantonment to Airport via Jessore Road will be constructed. De-launching of these abandoned girders is very crucial considering heavy traffic movement along the congested arterial road connecting Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport.