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Green Corridor: Last link almost ready, but Pucca Pul junction bottleneck looms
Once opened, the ROB will connect the completed portions of the Green Corridor, allowing commuters to travel continuously from IIM Road to Samta Mulak. Traffic from the IIM side will be able to use the corridor across the Daliganj-Pucca Pul section instead of encountering a break in the route.
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The Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) is preparing to open the final missing link of its Green Corridor project, a nearly one-kilometre railway overbridge (ROB) connecting Daliganj with the Pucca Pul crossing near Teele Wali Masjid, within the next few days. The opening will make the 13.5-km stretch between IIM Road and Samta Mulak crossing fully operational, but pending work on a parallel bridge and an encroaching boundary wall could create a traffic bottleneck at the junction.
An HT ground visit on Thursday found that most of the ROB construction had been completed. The LDA has started black-topping the stretch and expects to finish it within the next two to three days.
Officials said the ROB was the last major component pending under Phase 2 of the Green Corridor, which has a project cost of around ₹209 crore. The authority has already completed the bridge connecting Mankameshwar Road towards Suraj Kund Park and two elevated rotaries, which have been inaugurated.
Several issues during construction delayed the ROB, preventing the entire Phase 2 stretch from becoming operational together, officials said.
Once opened, the ROB will connect the completed portions of the Green Corridor, allowing commuters to travel continuously from IIM Road to Samta Mulak. Traffic from the IIM side will be able to use the corridor across the Daliganj-Pucca Pul section instead of encountering a break in the route.
The final link is expected to improve movement between north and central Lucknow, particularly for commuters using the corridor to bypass busy stretches of the city.
Intersection plan hits delay
The LDA has also prepared a traffic intersection plan near Teele Wali Masjid and Pucca Pul to manage movement after the ROB opens.
Officials said the proposed arrangement would allow commuters travelling from IIM Road towards Sitapur Road to take a turn, while vehicles heading towards Old Lucknow and Daliganj can continue through the Green Corridor.
However, the LDA has not been able to execute the plan as the Bridge Corporation is constructing another bridge parallel to the existing Pucca Pul.
Officials said the approach road for the new bridge still requires soil filling and other work. The delay has consequently held up the proposed intersection.
LDA secretary Sushil Pratap Singh told HT that the connectivity would ease traffic movement and help thousands of commuters travel along the corridor.
New bridge to change traffic flow
Officials said the new bridge, once completed, would alter traffic movement in the area. The existing heritage Pucca Pul is expected to face restrictions on vehicular movement, with traffic shifted to the newly constructed bridge. The LDA wants to coordinate the intersection design with this new traffic arrangement so that vehicles do not face another bottleneck immediately after the Green Corridor opens.
Boundary raises another concern
The authority has also identified a boundary wall near the proposed intersection as another obstacle. Officials said the boundary had extended into the available road space. Moving it a few inches inward would allow the LDA to achieve the required road alignment and develop the intersection more smoothly.
If the boundary remains in its current position, officials fear the reduced road width could cause congestion after the Green Corridor becomes operational.
