The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) announced that a section connecting Sector-12/12-A and Sector-20/21 dividing roads towards the Panchkula-Shimla Expressway was closed due to the ongoing construction of two underpasses on the national highway.
According to NHAI officials, individuals utilizing these stretches will need to take alternative routes to reach their destinations. The officials elaborated that the structures for the underpasses on the expressway had been completed. They explained that to link these underpasses with Sector-12/12-A and Sector-20/21 dividing roads, approach roads on both sides would be demolished. Subsequently, a new road would be constructed beneath the expressway, and a road above these underpasses would also be built to connect to the expressway.
The officials mentioned that the completion of this work would require a minimum of three to four months. The NHAI initiated the construction of underpasses for both sides of the road on the expressway on March 30, 2023. Although the deadline for completing the work was March 31, 2024, it remains unfinished. They attributed the delay to heavy rainfall this year and assured that it would be finished within the next three to four months.
With the closure of the expressway at this section, traffic towards the Sector-20 lights point under the expressway from the Sector-12-A/Industrial Area Phase-I dividing road will be redirected. To access Sector-20 from Dhakoli, the public can utilize the newly constructed single-lane flyover towards Zirakpur. The closure of the road will inconvenience Sector-20, which has the highest population due to residential housing societies in the area.
NHAI officials asserted that the construction of these four underpasses will resolve the traffic issue at the stretch for at least 25 years. The roads have been blocked with barriers, and signboards displaying a new route plan have been installed.
