Repair work triggers traffic snarls near Ghaggar bridge

Gaurav Kanthwal

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Zirakpur, February 28

After frequent traffic jams on the Chandigarh-Zirakpur stretch of the highway near the underpass site, long snarls are being witnessed near the McDonald’s lights point in Zirakpur.

Today, long queues of vehicles were seen till Bhankharpur, said road users. The service lanes on both sides of the road have been closed to traffic due to the ongoing repair work there. Officials said after the completion of repair work, the construction of a flyover near the Ghaggar bridge would begin.

Zirakpur Zone-6 Inspector Sukhdeep Singh said, “The service lane is being repaired by the NHAI so that when the construction of a flyover begins, traffic moves through it unhindered. It will take two-three days.”

Heavy vehicle drivers flout 8 am-8 pm restriction

Meanwhile, the 8 am-8 pm restriction for heavy vehicles at the Tribune Chowk is being flouted with impunity. Most bus drivers continue to take the NH-5 from the chowk to Zirakpur, thereby clogging the road near the underpass site. In the past three days, the police have issued traffic slips to 13 drivers of Haryana Roadways, two of the HRTC, two of Uttarakhand Transport and one driver of the PRTC. Vikas Kamboj, a traffic policeman, said, “There are four points on the Chandigarh-Zirakpur road from where buses and truck drivers enter this stretch without permission. Personnel have been deployed at each point but sometimes they manage to slip through.”