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Bhai Bala intersection to be reopened for traffic
As the construction work at the Bhai Bala intersection has been completed, it was opened for commuters in the late hours on Friday, said National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials
In a major relief for commuters, the Bhai Bala intersection, which had been partially closed in January this year, will be reopened for traffic in the coming days. The intersection had been partially blocked due to the ongoing construction of the Elevated Road Project on Ferozepur Road.
As the construction work at the intersection has been completed, it was opened for commuters in the late hours on Friday, said National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials. They added that after the installation of traffic lights at the intersection, the traffic flow would be normal.
Currently, temporary roundabouts have been created to ease the flow of traffic, said TK Singh, project manager, NHAI.
In January, the authorities closed the passage from and towards Pakhowal Road and Ghumar Mandi. The passage between the mini secretariat and Aarti Chowk had been shifted to slip roads on both sides leading to congestion and chaos throughout the day.
Due to the blockade, commuters hitting the intersection from Pakhowal Road and Ghumar Mandi would take a detour on the slip lanes.
The Bhai Bala intersection, which is the meeting point for commuters coming from Ferozepur Road, Pakhowal Road, and Ghumar Mandi, has been reopened for traffic after six months. With this, the traffic movement at the city’s busiest intersection and seeing jams due to ongoing construction is expected to improve.
To control the flow of traffic, roundabouts (U-turns) had been created within 100 metres of the intersection towards each side of Ferozepur Road.
Rahul Verma, a member of the Punjab Road Safety Council, said that opening the intersection without traffic lights can become a reason for accidents, so it has been decided to move the traffic through the roundabouts till the time traffic lights are installed.
NHAI officials said that the Verka Chowk to the Bhai Bala intersection portion of the elevated road on the Ferozepur road will be opened to the public in the last week of July. They added that the work to lay the bitumen layer has been started and will be thrown open for the public after the completion of the ramp.
The elevated road project extending from Samrala Chowk to Octroi on Ferozepur Road began in October 2017. While it was supposed to be completed by 2020 initially, the deadline has now been pushed to July 2023
Currently, major construction work is underway at Bharat Nagar Chowk, which is the meeting point of traffic going towards and coming from the bus stand, Ferozepur Road, Mall Road, and Jagraon Bridge, and is the city’s busiest intersection. Owing to congestion due to the construction work, commuters undergo massive inconvenience throughout the day.
