From a plethora of bad roads to the prospect of one good road — the city is set for a Puja 2007 date with its first east-west corridor, connecting the riverfront with EM Bypass.

The joint venture of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) and the Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners (HRBC) will run through north Calcutta.

The 4.5-km Chitpur–Bypass link will touch BT Road, RG Kar Road, Canal West Road and Canal South Road. An underpass at Ultadanga, to be built at a cost of Rs 6 crore, will extend across VIP Road to join the artery with the northern end of the Bypass.

A major portion of the project will be ready by the year-end but the underpass will take longer to construct, said civic officials. The corridor will be the 12th connector to the Bypass, three of which are in north Calcutta.

To establish the east-west link, a 1.2-km road will have to be built along the southern bank of New Cut Canal, between Gajnavi bridge and Durgapur bridge. An earthen ramp supporting the railway tracks near Ultadanga blocks the route. The underpass will run under the ramp.

“We will engage RITES to build the underpass. It will soon submit a project report,” said municipal commissioner Alapan Bandyopadhyay.

According to civic deputy chief engineer (civil) Soumitra Bhattacharya, the CMC will construct the 1.2-km road and the underpass. The rest of the east-west corridor will be constructed by the HRBC.

Once the corridor is commissioned, motorists from South Sinthee, Baranagar, Cossipore, Paikpara, Tallah, Belgachhia and Chitpur will not need to drive to Khanna or Maniktala to access the Bypass.