| Barrackpore Trunk Road | |
|---|---|
| BT Road | |
 Barrackpore Trunk Road highlighted in red | |
 BT Road, Sinthee | |
| Route information | |
| Length | 18.1 km (11.2 mi) |
| Existed | 1775–present |
| Location | |
| Country | India |
| States | West Bengal |
| Districts | Kolkata andNorth 24 Parganas |
| Municipalities | Barrackpore Municipality, Titagarh Municipality,Khardaha Municipality,Panihati Municipality,Kamarhati Municipality,Baranagar Municipality, Kolkata Municipal Corporation |
| Highway system | |
Barrackpore Trunk Road, commonly known asBT Road, is 6 lanedtrunk road in KolkataWest Bengal, India. It connectsShaymbazar withBarrackpore viaBaranagar. Built in 1775, it is the oldestmetalled road and one of the busiest roads in the country. The 18.1 km (11.2 mi) long road is a part of bothState Highway 1 andState Highway 2.
Barrackpore Trunk Road has multiple institutes and other landmarks along it, including theIndian Statistical Institute andRabindra Bharati University. Once the areas around the road were industrial zones, but gradually, residential areas sprawled and replaced the industries. The city's 160-year-old water supply pipeline runs under the road. An elevatedmetro line was planned in 2010–2011 over the road fromBaranagar toBarrackpore. BT Road has a major intersection at Dunlop.
The 18.1-kilometre (11.2-mile)[1]trunk road starts from theShyambazar 5-point crossing inNorth Kolkata, goes straight northward and ends atBarrackpore. It serves theTala,Sinthee,Cossipore,Baranagar,Dunlop,Belghoria,Kamarhati,Agarpara,Panihati,Sodepur,Sukchar,Khardaha,Titagarh,Barrackpore areas under themunicipalities ofBarrackpore,Titagarh,Khardaha,Panihati,Kamarhati,Baranagar andKolkata Municipal Corporation.[2] The West BengalState Highway 1 andState Highway 2 runs through BT Road.[3] It is a six-lane road of 21 m (69 ft) width except some areas where it is 4 laned. The traffic volume on the trunk road fewer than 7,000 passenger car units a day in the late 1990s, which had increased to 12,000 passenger car units a day in 2010. A six-laneflyover is planned betweenTallah Bridge and Dunlop to decongest the BT Road.[4][5]
Dunlop More is aT-shaped majorintersection in the route. There, it passes under theBelghoria Expressway (AH1). The branched out road from BT Road at Dunlop joins the Belghoria Expressway, which further connects withNational Highways 16 and19 on the other side ofHooghly River. It also has aone-way flyover from the branched road, which joins BT Road on the Shyambazar-facing lane.[6] Barrackpore Trunk Road passes underKolkata Metro Blue Line andChord Link Line (Kolkata Suburban Railway) and has an interchange facility withBaranagar metro station[7] andBaranagar Road railway station[8] respectively, at Dunlop.[5]
Barrackpore was the first Britishcantonment in India, set up in 1772.[9][10] To connect it with the then country capital, Calcutta, the trunk road was built in 1775; it was the firstmetalled road in India and is also one of the busiest roads in the country.[11][12]
Later the areas including Khardah, Sodepur and Titagarh, along BT Road grew into industrial zones. Some of the notablemills included Mohini Mills in Belghoria, Basanti Cotton Mills in Khardah Jute Mill/ But during the late 1970–80s,deindustrialization began under the thenChief MinisterJyoti Basu's tenure in the state.[13] This led to a shift from heavy industries to small andcottage industries, with many of the industrial developments on the road closing. Gradually, property developers took up the vacant lands and built housing infrastructure along the road.[14] The announcement of metro projects also increased the demand of residential properties.[15][16]
Some major institutes and campuses includingIndian Statistical Institute, a Statistical Laboratory set up byPrasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in Kolkata;[17]Rabindra Bharati University, a public researchuniversity;[18]College of Medicine & Sagore Dutta Hospital, a referral government hospital,medical college and research institute;[19]University of Calcutta BT Road Campus, acollegiate public state research university;[20] are situated on Barrackpore Trunk Road.
Other notable landmarks along the route include theBengal Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, Panihati factory;[21]NCERT Production-cum-Distribution Centre, Panihati;[22]Texmaco Rail & Engineering Limited, Belgharia;[23] andCESC Titagarh generating station.[24]
TheBaranagar–Barrackpore metro line (or Pink Line) is a 12.5 km (7.8 mi) northward extension of theKolkata Metro network along BT Road with Baranagar metro station serving as theinterchange between Blue and Pink Lines. It was sanctioned at a cost of₹2,069.6crore (equivalent to₹46 billion or US$550 million in 2023) in the 2010–2011 budget. This line was meant to enable a quick commute from the northernmost suburbs toSouth Kolkata.[25][15]
Although the work never started as theGovernment of West Bengal had proposed for realignment of the line viaKalyani Expressway, due to the presence of arterialwater pipelines under BT Road, that supply water to Kolkata. The construction work might damage the water pipelines, cutting off the city's water supply. It might also create hugetraffic congestion on the busy road.[15][26][27] As of 2021,Shyambazar andBaranagar metro station are connected with the trunk road.
Potable water pipeline connections fromPalta Waterworks to Kolkata, along the BT Road, existed since the late 1860s. After the construction of theTala tank, it was joined with 42 in (110 cm) diametercast iron pipes.[28][29] There are six pipelines of 42–70 in (110–180 cm) diameter, under BT Road connecting the Tala reservoir with Palta.[30] It also carries water pipes of other municipalities including Sodepur and Panihati.[15]
 | This article contains a bulleted list or table of intersections whichshould be presented in a properly formatted junction table. Please consultthis guideline for information on how to create one. Pleaseimprove this article if you can.(November 2021) |
The entire route is in West Bengal.
| Location | Distance | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shyambazar | 0.0 km (0 mi) | Southern terminus | |
| Dunlop | 5.8 km (3.6 mi) |  Belghoria Expressway | |
| Barrackpore | 18.1 km (11.2 mi) |  State Highway 1 State Highway 2 | Northern terminus |
Media related toBarrackpore Trunk Road at Wikimedia Commons
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