Zirakpur: Over 2 years on, flyover near Singhpura Chowk incomplete

Tribune News Service

Zirakpur, August 5

More than two years after the construction of two flyovers began at Zirakpur, the project remains incomplete with road users facing safety hazards and long jams on the Chandigarh-Ambala national highway here.

The two flyovers are located over a distance of about 1.5 km — near the Best Price store-Singhpura chowk and the other a little ahead of the McDonald’s light points on the ring road before the Ghaggar bridge. One of the two flyovers, near Singhpura Chowk, is still in limbo as the landowner and the NHAI are locked in a tussle in the Supreme Court. While the judgment in the case nowhere in sight, it will take at least six months to complete the construction work. Conservative estimates peg the delay of at least one more year though the NHAI and the district administration are giving no time frame for the completion of the project.

Deadline breached multiple times

• Under the project, two flyovers were to be constructed over a distance of about 1.5 km — near the Best Price store-Singhpura chowk and the other a little ahead of the McDonald’s light points on the ring road before the Ghaggar bridge.
• In the beginning, around December 2021, the NHAI had set a time frame of 18 months for building the two flyovers at a cost of about ~40 crore, but the deadline has been breached several times and the construction cost has escalated considerably.

NHAI officials said they were mulling to complete one side of the flyover near the Singhpura chowk till the time the land was clear for the other side.

While the Delhi-Chandigarh side of the under-construction flyover is clear, a section of the Chandigarh-Ambala side of the flyover falls on a piece of land which the NHAI has failed to acquire till now. As a result, a bend has been created on the straight stretch, leading to a disruption in the smooth flow of traffic. Also, the bend spot has become a safety hazard where fast-moving heavy vehicle traffic of the NH and light vehicles of the city traffic mingle dangerously.

“The road is patchy here and there are two-three schools nearby. During morning and evening hours, there is too much of city traffic which comes in the spate of fast-moving heavy vehicles on the NH,” said Ashish Gupta, a Zirakpur resident.

ArriveSafe NGO founder Harman Sidhu said, “The police have not taken any action on my complaint against the NHAI for failing to remove safety hazards from this stretch.” Dera Bassi MLA Kuljit Singh Randhawa had claimed that due to the prevailing situation at the Shambhu border, the traffic on the stretch had increased manifold.

In the beginning, around December 2021, the NHAI had set a time frame of 18 months for building the two flyovers at a cost of about Rs 40 crore, but the deadline has been breached several times and the construction cost has escalated considerably.