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Vivekananda Setu
Vivekananda Setu, which is built on Hooghly River, is also called Bally Bridge or Willingdon Bridge by the people of West Bengal. Vivekananda Setu actually links Howrah to the city of Kolkata at Bally and even Dakshineswar. Vivekananda Setu was completed in the year 1932 and it is considered to be a useful multi-span steel bridge. The bridge was constructed to provide useful rail and road link between Kolkata Port and the surrounding hinterland. The total length of Vivekananda Setu is 2,887 feet. Moreover, the construction and design of the bridge was finalized by the renowned Kutchi-Mistri contractor along with the industrialist Rai Jagmal Raja Chauhan. The nameplates of these two distinguished people are erected on each girder of Vivekananda Setu Rai.
The construction of Vivekananda Setu began in the year 1926 and it got completed in 1932. Moreover, the fabrication process of Vivekananda Setu was completed by the famous Braithwaite and Company. It was also named as the “Willingdon Bridge” and “Bally Bridge” after the Viceroy Freeman Thomas, who was the first Marquess of Willingdon and he has the credit of inaugurating the bridge. The first train, which ran on the bridge, was actually named as Jagmal Raja Express, acknowledging the achievement of Bahadur Jagmal Raja. According to some reports, the total expenditure incurred on the construction of Vivekananda Setu was actually pegged at 1 crore during that time.
Geography
It must be noted that Vivekananda Setu serves the dual purpose of both rail and road network for the people of West Bengal and the rest of the country with great distinction. The rail network of Vivekananda Setu actually connects Sealdah to New Delhi and other adjoining cities of the state and country as well. On the other hand, the road network on Vivekananda Setu connects the famous Grand Trunk Road to the prominent Barrackpore Trunk Road and other adjoining highways and roads of the state. The renowned Dakshineswar Temple is also located on the banks of River Hooghly close to the Vivekananda Setu. The bridge has sister conduits built on the river at different embankments and points. The Vidyasagar Setu and Howrah Bridge, which is also called Rabindra Setu, are some of the prominent sister bridges that are built close to Vivekananda Setu.
The Vivekananda Setu has lately handled daily vehicular traffic of more than 24,000 vehicles. It must be noted that due to continuous everyday traffic and ageing, the bridge has become weak. Therefore, the local government has attempted to repair the damages; however restoration of the damages is considered to be tough and cumbersome as the bridge is ageing fast. There was an urgent requirement of a strong second bridge close to Vivekananda Setu and this need actually resulted in the construction of Nivedita Setu. This new bridge was constructed very close to Vivekananda Setu and it measures 50 meters downstream. The main idea was to ease the heavy traffic flow on Vivekananda Setu. Nivedita Setu was opened to general public and traffic in the year 2007. The overall architecture and construction of Nivedita Setu is impressive and robust and the bridge has solved several problems.
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