Construction of the remaining piers for the Kona Expressway flyover near Nabanna is set to accelerate during Durga Puja, when traffic volumes are expected to be lower, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has said. The six-lane flyover is scheduled for completion by December 2027 and is intended to provide an additional corridor along one of Kolkata’s busiest routes.
The project will run from Football Gate near Nabanna to Nibra, where Kona Expressway meets NH-16, the Dankuni-Kharagpur road. The route serves as a major gateway between Kolkata and several parts of south and north Bengal, but has experienced a substantial increase in traffic over time.
Amrit Lal Sahu, project director, Kolkata, at NHAI, said the authority planned to advance foundation work during the Puja period because traffic would be lighter. The section near Football Gate currently sees heavy weekday movement, making the timing of construction activity important for the project’s execution and traffic management.
An NHAI official said the flyover had reached 40% progress. Of the 221 piers planned for the structure, foundations for 175 have been completed. The remaining pier construction is expected to form a significant part of the work undertaken during the accelerated phase.
The estimated project cost has risen to Rs 1,300 crore from Rs 1,212 crore. According to NHAI, the revision followed a change in the scope of work, including a three-tier road arrangement at the Santragachhi Railway Station Crossing. The arrangement will comprise the existing road and two flyovers, while creating additional space for pedestrian crossings.
The project design includes separate movement paths for different types of traffic. One flyover will serve local traffic and buses, while the upper tier will be used by heavy vehicles and other long-distance traffic that does not need to stop on Kona Expressway. An NHAI official said a 150-metre flyover for local traffic would be built above the widened road, immediately after the Santragachhi rail overbridge.
The authority has already completed road widening on the one-kilometre stretch between Football Gate and Betor as part of the three-tier scheme. The flyover will also have two ends, with one connected to the road towards Kolaghat and the other towards Singur. Both ends will include upward and downward ramps to connect the elevated corridor with the surrounding road network.
The arrangement is intended to separate local and long-distance traffic around the Santragachhi crossing, where railway infrastructure, city-bound movement and highway traffic converge. NHAI’s current schedule places completion of the wider flyover project in December 2027, with construction activity on the remaining foundations and piers expected to pick up during Durga Puja.
