The ongoing construction work for the National Highway Authority of India’s (NHAI) elevated road project has turned Ferozepur road, one of the central arteries of the city, into a nightmare for the commuters.
Notably, the route connects residential colonies, Punjab Agricultural University, the mini-secretariat and other important commercial centres of the city to the suburbs and adjoining towns and villages. Illegally-parked vehicles and those entering and exiting the commercial establishments further worsen the traffic snarls.
The 4-km long stretch from Bharat Nagar chowk to the Verka milk plant is the worst-hit, with traffic moving at snail’s pace.
With construction material piled up at different points, commuters are, at places, left with a narrow service lane on both sides — which already remains clogged due to vehicles parked roadside.
Twenty-minute to half-hour long jams have now become commonplace.
Speaking of the long traffic jams, Vishal Batra, a resident of Jawahar Nagar, said, “Since the construction has started, commuters are facing a harrowing time on a daily basis, it takes over 30 minutes extra every day to cross the jams.
As junctions like Aarti Chowk do not have traffic lights and no traffic police personnel to manage the flow, it has increased the difficulties of the people.”
{{/usCountry}}As junctions like Aarti Chowk do not have traffic lights and no traffic police personnel to manage the flow, it has increased the difficulties of the people.”
{{/usCountry}}In the absence of a service lane and demarcated parking area, several parked vehicles can be seen encroaching onto the under-construction road.
Addressing the same, Gurpreet, who owns a garage on the road, said, “It is the busiest road in the city, a designated place for parking the vehicles should have been created. The mismanagement has also taken a toll on our businesses as the customers prefer not to get stuck in jams.”
Jasneet Dhawan, a student at Government College for Girls, meanwhile, said “I have stopped bringing my two-wheeler for the fear of an accident as the roads are in a bad state ever since the construction began. Dust engulfing the area is another big problem.”
A traffic police officer deputed on duty said the traffic is worst during the peak morning and evening hours and at times, they have to step in to clear paths for ambulances. He, however, was quick to add that effective management is a challenge given the lack of personnel.
Passing the buck to the civic body, additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP, operations and special branch) Sameer Verma, said “It rests with the municipal authorities to create proper parking places in the commercial areas. We have requested the highway authorities to expedite the work so that a proper parking plan can be chalked out.”
On being about the shortfall of traffic police personnel, he said “Due to the acute crunch of traffic police, we are not able to deploy dedicated staff to ease the bottlenecks.”
The elevated road project extending from Samrala Chowk to Octroi on Ferozepur road began back in October 2017. While it was supposed to be completed by 2020 initially, the deadline has been pushed to March 2023..