PM Modi to launch projects worth Rs 6,600 cr in Chandigarh on July 17 in major connectivity boost to Tricity

PTC News Desk: In a major connectivity boost to tricity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate and lay foundation stones of road, health and civic infrastructure projects worth over Rs 6,600 crore.

The projects, worth Rs 5,278 crore, include the inauguration of the 31.23-km Zirakpur–Kurali six-lane Greenfield Highway and the foundation stones for the 10.30-km Chandigarh Airport–Aerocity Greenfield Highway and the 19.20-km Zirakpur Bypass.

These projects are expected to bring major relief from traffic congestion in Chandigarh. Vehicles travelling to Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir will be able to bypass the city instead of passing through it. This will separate local traffic from long-distance traffic, reducing congestion on roads connecting Chandigarh with Mohali and Panchkula.

The new highways are expected to cut travel time, improve road safety and reduce fuel wastage caused by traffic jams. They will also make the movement of goods faster and more efficient. At present, thousands of trucks and other long-distance vehicles pass through the Tricity due to the lack of proper highway links, leading to heavy traffic on major roads such as Madhya Marg, Dakshin Marg, the Chandigarh–Zirakpur road and routes towards Mohali and Panchkula.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the event along with Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria, Haryana Governor Prof. Ashim Kumar Ghosh, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini.

The three National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) projects are the final parts of the 244-km Tricity Ring Road, a Rs 12,000-crore road network being built around Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula. The ring road aims to divert interstate and non-local traffic away from the city, making travel smoother for local commuters.