In a major connectivity push for Patiala and nearby districts, travel to Mohali and Chandigarh will take just an hour once the crucial 27.37-km Mohali-Sirhind Greenfield Highway is opened to commuters by September.
Although the stretch is officially closed due to last-minute maintenance work, people have already started using it and sharing photos and videos of their experience on social media.
Once opened, the highway, which will merge with NH-44 near Sirhind, is expected to be a boon for residents of Ludhiana, Barnala, Moga and other districts of the region. It will also provide faster connectivity along the Patiala-Sirhind road.
Meanwhile, the double-laning of the 29-km Sirhind-Patiala road, once considered a “killer stretch” due to frequent accidents, is expected to be completed by the end of July.
According to Patiala DC Himanshu Aggarwal, the construction of the central divider is nearing completion, after which road markings will be carried out.
Ashim Bansal, Project Director of NHAI, said the Mohali-Sirhind project has reached its final stages. The road has not been opened yet due to the monsoon, as road markings and other works are still pending. “By the beginning of September, the road will be opened for the public,” he said.
Bansal added that one arm of the highway will connect near Landran, while the other will link to IT City, Mohali.
According to road safety experts, the access-controlled, 4-to-6-lane corridor will reduce travel time between Mohali and Sirhind to just 30 minutes, allowing drivers to bypass the congested Landran Chowk on State Highway 12A.
Bansal has urged commuters to avoid using the stretch until work is complete, as timely assistance would be difficult in case of a vehicle breakdown.
For years, travel from Patiala to Chandigarh has been considered cumbersome due to illegally mushrooming colonies with direct entries onto the highway.
Residents of Royal City have long demanded better connectivity between Mohali and Patiala. “The shifting of the interstate bus terminus near Urban Estate Chowk in Patiala turned out to be the biggest bottleneck for commuters heading to Chandigarh. The traffic lights from Chett Chowk to Mohali pose a major challenge for drivers,” said Kamaljit Singh, a resident of Officers’ Colony in Patiala.
“The stretch not only adds to travel time but also leaves commuters completely exhausted,” he added.
Gurmeet Singh Sondhi, a banker from Moga, said most people traveling to Mohali currently use the busy single-lane state highway from Fatehgarh Sahib to Landran, which is accident-prone.
