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Commuters breathe easy as 3-km stretch thrown open for traffic
The opening of a 3 km long stretch is expected to ease the congestion on the internal roads across the city
In a big relief to the city residents who were reeling under traffic woes due to delay in construction work of the Ludhiana-Ferozepur road, the authorities on Monday threw open the section connecting Bhai Bala Chowk to Sidhwan Canal.
The opening of a 3 km long stretch is expected to ease the congestion on the internal roads across the city.
Punjab Road Safety Council member Rahul Verma said the commuters earlier needed to cross Professor Mohan Singh chowk (Aarti Chowk), Malhar Road cut, PAU gate number 2, Sarabha Nagar cut to reach Sidhwan Canal amid traffic. The opening of the section, however, will allow commuters to reach Sidhwan Canal from Bhai Bala Chowk in quick time.
Anoop Gupta, a resident of New Sarabha Nagar, said the opening of the stretch has come as a big relief for the city residents. He added that authorities should complete the project as soon as possible as the city has been reeling under traffic jams since 2017.
Meanwhile, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) is also prepared to open the flyover for the traffic from Sidhwan Canal to Bharat Nagar Chowk, The same, however, is being reviewed amid ongoing farmer union protest under the bridge outside Mini Secretariat.
According to the authorities, the stretch will be completed before Diwali, but sensing the current situation, the opening could be delayed to December last week.
Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) local unit leaders, meanwhile, reached the Bhai Bala chowk and distributed sweets among the commuters.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) member of Parliament from the Rajya Sabha Sanjeev Arora thanked the Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Jairam Gadkari, the NHAI chairperson Santosh Kumar Yadav and the NHAI Ludhiana project director Ashok Kumar Rolaniya for completion of the section.
The section of the flyover between Octroi post on Ferozepur road to Verka Milk Plant had earlier on March 30 been thrown open to light vehicles.
The construction work of ₹756.27 crore elevated road project began in 2017 and was supposed to be completed in 2020. The deadline, however, has since been extended.
