The route is different; the destination is the same. The alignment is different; the aim is the same. The much-awaited link road connecting Salt Lake with the airport is poised to take off, with the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government deciding to discard the old proposed route and chalk out a new pathway.

The road — starting next to the CSTC bus stand near the entry point of Sector V, cutting through Rajarhat New Town and hitting VIP Road at Kaikhali, two km from the airport — has been approved by the government.

“It has been decided that the cost of constructing the road will be equally shared by CMDA and Hidco. Tenders for the project will be floated soon,” said Alapan Bandyopadhyay, chief executive officer of CMDA. The cost of construction has been pegged at around Rs 7 crore. Work on the Salt Lake bypass would start soon on portions where land is readily available.

The revised proposal focuses on a six-lane road, about 955 m in length, of which 530 m will involve widening of a 15-m-wide existing road. The remaining 425 m will be new. The earlier plan, rejected for the cost factor (Rs 36 crore), was for a four-lane elevated road of about one km, including the approaches.

In addition, a 200 m at-grade

road would have to be built to

wards the Keshtopur bridge. "Be

sides the high cost, the plan was

very complicated with several

humps that needed to be con

structed," said a state urban de

velopment department official.

The new scheme requires 127

cottahs of land from allottees

like Border Security Force, West

Bengal State Electricity Board,

Central Reserve Police Force and

Webel. For the remaining

stretch, requiring 197 cottahs,

the land is more or less available

except for one building and some

other small structures.

A survey is being conducted

to the help clear the path for the

link road. "Issues like compensa

tion and alternative spots are

being discussed with organisa

tions situated on the route," said

a urban development official. A

committee with officials from

CMDA, Hidco and the urban de

velopment department has been

formed to speed up the process.

Plans are also afoot to con

struct a road connecting the Salt

Lake bypass with the Rashebe

hari Avenue connector of the

EM Bypass. "This is a part of a

long-term scheme to set up a

Greater Calcutta Ring Road,"

said Bandyopadhyay.

CMDA would be given the re

sponsibility to construct the

roads.