Kharar: Tardy progress of construction leads to Bottlenecks and traffic congestion
Traffic congestion due to the ongoing construction of the Kharar-Balongi is day in, day out trouble for commuters, as there is no traffic diversion or proper service roads. Avtar Singh, who travels from Kharar to Chandigarh daily, said, “The traffic congestion is due to the slow pace of construction. The carriageway is narrow. The road should be widened for a smooth movement of vehicles.” “The traffic is exponential when office-goers travel to or return from their offices. In case a vehicle breaks down on the stretch, there is a mile-long traffic jam,” said the owner of a shop on the highway. The construction of the six-lane flyover began on June 9 last year and has since been redesigned as a combination of elevated and surface project, after the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) shelved the earlier designs after protests by some area residents. The project undertaken by L&T is a 10.185-km stretch, including a 3.2-km elevated corridor and three underpasses. The elevated corridor will start from Sunny Enclave and end at the Khanpur T-point in Kharar on the NH-21. The three underpasses will be built at Balongi, Daon and near KFC outlet along the Airport road. The approach road for the underpasses will be 45-m wide. Over 40,000 vehicles are estimated to ply on the flyover daily. An official associated with the project said on the condition of anonymity, “The project is expected to be delayed by at least six months. So far, 102 pillars have been completed out of the total 139. But precast work, girder erection and curing will take time.” A local dhaba owner said, “Since the road is too narrow, there is no parking space left in front of our shops, leading to a loss in business. Who would like to eat with mud and haze around.” -PTC News