Vidyasagar Setu | |
|---|---|
 Vidyasagar Setu from Prinsep Ghat | |
| Coordinates | 22°33′26″N 88°19′40″E / 22.557105°N 88.327757°E |
| Carries | Kona Expressway, which is a part of National Highway 12 (India), Roadway only |
| Crosses | Hooghly River |
| Locale | Kolkata and Howrah, West Bengal |
| Official name | Vidyasagar Setu |
| Other name(s) | Second Hooghly Bridge |
| Named for | Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar |
| Maintained by | Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Cable-stayed bridge |
| Total length | 822.96 metres (2,700 ft) |
| Width | 35 metres (115 ft) |
| Longest span | 457.2 metres (1,500 ft) |
| Clearance below | 26 metres (85 ft) |
| No. of lanes | 6 |
| History | |
| Constructed by | The Braithwaite Burn & Jessop Construction Company Limited |
| Construction start | July 3, 1979 |
| Opened | October 10, 1992 |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | ~90,000 vehicles (as of 2018)[1] |
| Toll | Yes, toll bridge |
| Location | |
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Vidyasagar Setu, also known as the Second Hooghly Bridge, is an 822.96-metre-long (2,700 ft) cable-stayed six-laned toll bridge over the Hooghly River in West Bengal, India, linking the cities of Kolkata and Howrah. Opened in 1992, Vidyasagar Setu was the first[2] and longest cable-stayed bridge in India at the time of its inauguration. It was the second bridge to be built across the Hooghly River in Kolkata metropolitan region and was named after the education reformer Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. The project had a cost of ₹388 crore to build. The project was a joint effort between the public and private sectors, under the control of the Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners (HRBC).[3]
The importance of the bridge has increased manifold since 2013, as the West Bengal State Secretariat had shifted its office to Nabanna, located adjacent to the bridge on the Howrah side.[citation needed]
Initially, under the toll collection regime of the HRBC, daily traffic was recorded to be a minimum of 28,000 vehicles and a maximum of 39,000 vehicles in 2000, but fell to a maximum of around 30,000 vehicles by December 2002, when the management of the toll plaza was handed over to a private firm. Subsequently, the daily traffic reached a minimum of 45,000 vehicles and a maximum of 61,000 vehicles by early 2008, against a maximum capacity of 85,000 vehicles per day. The original management of the toll revenue collection by HRBC was consequently criticized for corruption and significant loss of revenue.[4]
- ^ "Pay more on 2nd Hooghly bridge | Kolkata News - Times of India". The Times of India. 13 January 2018.
- ^ "Vidyasagar Setu / 2nd Hooghly Bridge - Kolkata, West Bengal". bbjconst.com. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
- ^ "History". Kolkata Port Trust: Government of India. Archived from the original on 13 April 2013. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
- ^ Bandyopadhyay, Krishnendu (8 December 2008). "Rs 50 crore lost in toll plaza scam: Survey". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. The Times of India. Archived from the original on 5 January 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2014.