City residents can finally hope to say goodbye to traffic bottlenecks on the stretch between Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) and Sarangpur as the Chandigarh Heritage Committee has given its nod for a flyover on this route.
This is the second flyover to be cleared for the city after the Tribune Flyover project, which recently received an in-principal nod from the Centre.
Confirming the development, UT chief engineer CB Ojha said, “The heritage panel has granted its approval for the PGIMER- Sarangpur flyover. We are now waiting for the official minutes of the meeting. Once we get it, we will float the tenders for the project.”
As per officials, the tendering and project allotment process will take about two months while the flyover construction may take about 18 months. “If things move as per plans, we can expect the flyover to be ready by March 2027,” said a senior official of the engineering department.
First proposed in 2020, the flyover project had run into several hurdles. A geotechnical study was conducted and a feasibility report was submitted but the project was shelved in February 2023 following the announcement of a Metro corridor along the same route. The proposal was later revived after a fresh survey, conducted under the supervision of deputy commissioner and road safety committee chairperson Nishant Kumar Yadav, flagged the stretch as a major traffic bottleneck.
To resolve the conflict between the flyover and the proposed Metro line, the UT engineering department in June suggested a double-decker structure—one level for Metro tracks and the other for vehicular traffic.
{{/usCountry}}To resolve the conflict between the flyover and the proposed Metro line, the UT engineering department in June suggested a double-decker structure—one level for Metro tracks and the other for vehicular traffic.
{{/usCountry}}The project was tabled for final approval before the Chandigarh Heritage Committee, the authority for clearing projects requiring architectural changes to the city. The found that the flyover does not interfere with the sectoral grid of heritage sectors (Sectors 1 to 30) and thus gave its go-ahead.