To ease traffic congestion on the Khuda Lahora stretch, the construction work of a flyover from the PGIMER to Sarangpur is likely to start this year.
According to officials, the consultant has submitted the feasibility report of the project to the authorities and now a detailed project report (DPR) is being prepared.
This will be followed by the floating of tenders for the construction work.
“The construction is likely to start this year,” an official said, adding that the project was likely to cost approximately Rs 80 crore, nearly Rs 10 crore less than the earlier estimated cost.
In his Independence Day address last year, Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria had announced the construction of a four-lane flyover from the the PGIMER to Sarangpur at an estimated cost of nearly Rs 90 crore.
The construction of the 1.3-km flyover will ease traffic on the stretch, which witnesses frequent jams.
The Chandigarh Heritage Conservation Committee (CHCC) had no objection to the proposed flyover, but told the Engineering Department to keep the flyover out of the city’s sectoral grid and shift the location further towards the village area.
The UT Road Safety Committee had also recommended the construction of a flyover from the PGIMER till the Botanical Garden in Sarangpur.
The committee had identified five high-congestion zones in the UT, and termed the Khuda Lahora road the most critical choking point.
According to the committee, the road leading to Khuda Lahora and Khuda Jassu witnesses frequent traffic jams caused by pedestrians in the absence of footpaths, parking near a school, encroachments and poor drainage.
Auto-rickshaws stopping in the middle of the road to pick and drop passengers and vehicles taking a U-turn at sharp cuts further hinder the flow of traffic.
To ease the traffic, the committee proposed certain measures, including the construction of the flyover from the bridge at Khuda Jassu near the PGIMER to the Botanical Garden, creation of footpaths by shifting the school boundary wall, removing encroachments and widening the existing road to 200 feet for the traffic heading towards Mullanpur.
