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Ludhiana: Pakhowal road ROB, RUBs’ completion pushed to March 2022
Initiated in December last year under the Smart City Mission in Ludhiana, authorities had set August 31 as the deadline for the ₹120-crore Pakhowal road ROB, RUBs project but later extended it to December 31. Now, the deadline has been further pushed to March 2022
With construction far from over, authorities have extended the deadline for the rail overbridge (ROB) and two rail underbridges coming up on the Pakhowal road, from December 31 to March 2022.
Initiated in December last year under the Smart City Mission, authorities had set August 31 as the deadline for the ₹120-crore project but later extended it to December 31.
On Saturday, cabinet minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, along with mayor Balkar Sandhu and municipal corporation (MC) commissioner Pardeep Sabharwal, conducted field inspections to review the progress of the project and directed officials to expedite the work.
The project delay is set to antagonise shopkeepers on the stretch between Hero Bakery Chowk and Pakhowal road, which has been closed to facilitate construction work. Due to the closure, the shopkeepers have been struggling to make ends meet due to no or marginal footfall in the market. Over a dozen shopkeepers have also shifted their business to other areas.
Commuters have also been facing a harrowing time as they have to take a detour to reach the diversion. For commuters moving towards the Pakhowal road canal bridge from Sarabha Nagar and Hero Bakery Chowk, closure of the stretch has meant taking a detour via the Shastri Nagar Railway Crossing, Model Town Extension, or Cremation Ground Road (Ishmeet Singh Road). The bad condition of Ishmeet Singh road adds to the woes of the commuters.
Under the project, a ROB, 839.83 metres in length, is being constructed for the movement of traffic from Pakhowal road canal bridge to Hero Bakery Chowk. Besides, a RUB, 1,018.46 metres in length, is being constructed from the Pakhowal road canal bridge up to the Leisure Valley in Sarabha Nagar, and another RUB, 458.20 metres in length, is being constructed from Hero Bakery Chowk up to the Pakhowal Road canal bridge.
One RUB will be opened by Jan
The authorities stated that RUB from Pakhowal road canal bridge to Leisure Valley in Sarabha Nagar will be opened by January and the entire project will be complete by March next year.
As per officials, the RUB would have been opened soon but work was disrupted for around three weeks in November due to a sewer line damage at the construction site.
Earlier, cabinet minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu had assured that one of the RUBs being constructed from Pakhowal road towards Sarabha Nagar area, will be complete by July. The deadline was put forward to August 31 and then to Diwali. Now, the deadline has been further extended to January.
December 25 new deadline for completing Malhar road project:
Missing multiple deadlines in the past, the project to transform Malhar road into a smart road is now expected to be complete by Christmas (December 25). Ashu stated the work to lay underground electricity wires is going on and directions have been issued to expedite the work.
With construction works going on at Ferozepur road and Pakhowal road railway crossing, traffic snarls have increased on Malhar road. The project, which started in July 2019 was to be complete by May 2022 but was delayed due to pandemic outbreak. Authorities then set September 2020 as the new deadline and subsequently moved it further.
Ashu to take up matter with Railway minister
Blaming the railway authorities for the slow pace of the Pakhowal road rail overbridge and rail underbridge project, cabinet minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu on Saturday said he will take up the issue with union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Ashu said that deputy chief engineer (construction division) of the Northern Railways Williamjit Singh, during a meeting in August, had assured that their part of Pakhowal Road RUB-2 (from Pakhowal road canal bridge to Sarabha Nagar) will be complete by August 31, 2021. “Construction of ROB and RUBs at Pakhowal road railway crossing was a long-pending demand of residents due to traffic jams at the crossing. However, the work is going on at snail’s pace. I will take up the matter with union minister Vaishnaw so that work can be expedited. Residents have been suffering due to the delay,” said Ashu.
