Work to remove bottleneck on NH-44 to begin by Oct-end

Parveen Arora

Karnal, September 8

The NHAI has completed the tender process to initiate work on removing the traffic bottleneck near the Karna Lake on NH-44.

“We have completed the tender process and are hopeful that the work will commence by the end of October and the bottleneck near the Haryana Police Academy, Madhuban, will be removed with the widening of a bridge,” said a senior NHAI official.

The main carriageway of the highway becomes narrow on the Western Yamuna Canal (WYC) bridge, where vehicles from the main lanes, service lane and the Western Bypass merge, slowing down the traffic and often leading to a bottleneck.

Residents hailed the decision of the NHAI and said it would help in reducing the number of accidents here.

The road-widening work was being undertaken by the NHAI under a project to rectify geometric flaws in the structure of the Panipat-Jalandhar highway. Over Rs 500 crore would be spent on the project, under which bridges would also be constructed in continuation with service roads and railway overbridges wherever required, said the official.

The main carriageway on the WYC bridge would be widened from four lanes to six lanes. “We have observed drainage issues at some places, including Taraori, Shahabad and Ambala, which will also be resolved under this project. Illegal entry/exit points will be closed,” he added.