Tribune flyover back on anvil, Chandigarh to re-invite bids

In a major development, the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has decided to re-invite the bids to construct a six-lane 1.6-km flyover, rotary and an underpass at the Tribune Chowk on National Highway 5, which is one of the busiest junctions in Chandigarh.

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A decision to this effect was taken at a high-level meeting convened by the ministry in New Delhi recently to discuss the plans on traffic decongestion and development of road infrastructure in Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali urban agglomeration, which has undergone massive urbanisation in the past years.

The development assumes significance as the construction of a flyover, rotary and an underpass at the Tribune Chowk was approved in 2016, sanctioned and awarded by the Centre in 2019 at the cost of Rs 183.74 crore, following which the Letter of Award (LoA) was also issued in the same year. However, the project was stalled immediately after the Punjab and Haryana High Court granted stay, which was finally vacated with the dismissal of the public interest litigation (PIL) in 2024.

The MoRTH Secretary V Umashankar, who chaired the meeting, which was attended by the senior functionaries of the Ministry and the Chandigarh Administration, Haryana and Punjab Governments, directed the Chandigarh Administration to re-invite the bids to construct the Tribune flyover.

Following the directions, the UT Engineering Department has submitted the revised cost estimate (RCE) of the project amounting to Rs 245.09 crore for revised approval and sanction from the MoRTH. Now, a fresh tender will be floated to invite bids for awarding the work.

“After a detailed discussion, the MoRTH Secretary opined that since there has been a significant time gap since the award of work, it will be prudent to re-invite the bids and explore the current market response,” a senior official told The Tribune on Sunday.

He disclosed that the MoRTH Secretary directed that the amount towards shifting of public health utilities should be deposited with the Ministry by the Chandigarh Administration.

The work for construction of the flyover, rotary and underpass at the Tribune Chowk on NH-5 on a engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode was approved and sanctioned by the ministry on February 11, 2019, at a cost of Rs 183.74 crore. The LoA was issued on November 19, 2019.

However, on the very next day, a PIL was filed by the RUN Club before the Punjab and Haryana High Court regarding the proposed cutting of trees, following which the High Court granted stay on the execution of the project on November 20, 2019. The PIL was dismissed by the High Court on April 30, 2024.

In view of the significant lapse of time (almost five years) and to decide the further course of action, a meeting was earlier convened by the MoRTH in June 2024, wherein the Chandigarh Chief Engineer (CE) was advised to submit the RCE along with revised phasing of expenditure at the earliest so that after approval to the RCE, the contract agreement could be signed with the selected bidder.

On February 10, 2025, the UT Chief Engineer submitted the revised estimate based on the updated schedule of rates (SOR) amounting to Rs 246.09 crore instead of the revised cost estimate based on the updated price adjustment/escalation and GST for fresh approval. It included additional provision of shifting of the public health utilities, which was not the scope of the present agency that was awarded the project in 2019.

Keeping in view the current situation, the MoRTH Secretary called for re-inviting the bids and exploring the current market response to award the much-delayed project afresh.

Confirming the development, UT Engineering Secretary Prerna Puri said the fresh bids for the Tribune flyover project will be invited shortly as per the decision taken at the high-level meeting held in New Delhi recently.

Sharing details, the UT Chief Engineer CB Ojha disclosed that an RCE of Rs 245.09 crore was submitted to the Centre on May 28 for revised approval and sanction, following which the tender will be floated to invite fresh bids for the project.

He said the six-lane 1.6-km-long flyover will begin 200 metres after crossing the GMCH-32 roundabout and will cross over the Tribune Chowk on NH-5 to end 300 metres ahead of the railway overbridge on Dakshin Marg. “The project will be completed within 16-18 months of the award of work,” Ojha shared, while adding that one side of the present two-way stretch will remain open for vehicular traffic during the construction period.

HALLOMAJRA, OLD AIRPORT CHOWKS ALSO UNDER WORKS

The old Airport Chowk, Hallomajra T-point, and Hallomajra Chowk on NH-5 here will also be decongested. Taking cognisance of the heavy traffic congestion at these points, the Centre has decided to prepare a separate detailed project report (DPR) to mitigate these bottlenecks and decongest these points. It will be done by the Chandigarh regional office of the MoRTH on priority, said a senior functionary.