More toll plazas may come up on Mansa, Patiala routes

Nikhila Pant Dhawan

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, May 19

Travelling from Bathinda to Mansa, Sirsa, Sunam and Patiala may be costlier as more toll plazas on these routes have been proposed.

As per information, the Punjab Roads and Bridges Development Board (PRBDB) is planning to set up toll plazas on the Bhawanigarh-Sunam-Bhikhi-Maur Mandi-Kotshamir-Bathinda road under the public-private partnership mode. It also has called for tenders through advertisements. The tenders may be submitted between May 18 and July 3.

On July 3 evening, the bid will also be opened for technical proposals. The fee for submitting the tender has been fixed at Rs 10,000 while the security amount for development, operation and transfer of toll plazas has been kept at Rs 70 lakh.

With a view to gauge the volume of traffic on certain roads, auto-cameras have been installed by companies on some roads to see if setting up toll plazas on these roads would be feasible or not. As per information, the project may cost Rs 35 crore for setting up three toll plazas on these roads.

Sources in the PRBDB said before the project start taking shapes, 25 feet wide land on both sides of the Bhawanigarh-Kotshamir road will be acquired for widening it before setting up toll plazas. The tenders for the road widening project will also be called soon.

The sources in the board said that a plan to set up toll plazas on the Talwandi Sabo-Sardulgarh road, Talwandi Sabo-Mansa and Talwandi Sabo-Maur Mandi roads was being chalked out.

It is pertinent to mention here that after the widening of the Bathinda-Chandigarh and Bathinda-Amritsar highways, several toll plazas have been set up by the state government, most of which have started functioning.

As for of now, commuters travelling in a car and taking the Bathinda-Amritsar fourlane highway have to shell out Rs 245 one way at the toll plazas.

Since the beginning of toll plazas on the Bathinda-Chandigarh highway, a car driver has to shell out more than Rs 400 to take the highway. Those travelling in commercial vehicles have to shell out even higher amounts for crossing toll plazas.

Cameras set up to gauge traffic volume 

• With a view to gauge the volume of traffic on certain roads, auto-cameras have been installed by companies on some roads to see if setting up toll plazas on these roads would be feasible or not. As per information, the project may cost Rs 35 crore for setting up three toll plazas on these roads.  
• Sources in the Punjab Roads and Bridges Development Board said before the project starts taking shape, a 25-feet wide stretch of land on both sides of the Bhawanigarh-Kotshamir road will be acquired for widening before setting up toll plazas. The tenders for the road widening project will also be called soon. 

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