Vivekananda Setu (also called Willingdon Bridge and Bally Bridge) is a bridge over the Hooghly River in West Bengal, India. It links the city of Howrah, at Bally, to Kolkata, at Dakshineswar. Completed in 1931, it is a multispan truss bridge that was built to primarily to provide direct road and rail connectivity between the Calcutta Port and the major railhead at Howrah railway station on the West bank of the Hooghly River. It is long having 9 spans in total. The famous Dakshineswar Kali Temple is situated on the banks of the Hooghly River near the bridge. The bridge is one of the four bridges linking both sides of Kolkata city. A new road bridge, the Nivedita Setu, was constructed downstream in 2007 due to weakening of the Vivekanada Setu caused by its ageing.
Naming
The bridge was originally named Willingdon Bridge after Viceroy of India, Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon. The foundation was laid with well-sinking down the river beds. Girding, erection of abutments and arching were all done by Rai Bahadur Jagmal Raja.