Centre clears Rs 240 cr for Tribune flyover

The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has given in-principle approval to the revised estimate of Rs 240 crore for the construction of the proposed flyover at the Tribune Chowk here.

A senior official stated that the approval was given during a meeting with senior officers of the ministry in Delhi today. Now, a fresh tender will be floated to invite bids for awarding the flyover project, he said, while adding that it would take nearly 16-18 months to complete the project after awarding the work.

The construction of the flyover, featuring a rotary and an underpass at the Tribune Chowk, was approved and sanctioned by the ministry on February 11, 2019, at a cost of Rs 183.74 crore and the work was awarded on February 19.

The 1.6-km flyover was planned from near the GMCH-32 roundabout to the railway overbridge on the Dakshin Marg, passing over the Tribune Chowk.

Busiest chowk

To ease traffic at the Tribune Chowk, which sees a huge traffic of more than 1.43 lakh vehicles daily, including 1.35 lakh passenger car units (PCUs), the foundation stone of the project was laid on March 3, 2019.

On a petition filed by the Run Club, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on November 20, 2019, had stayed the move of the UT Administration to cut 700 trees on both sides of the Dakshin Marg and the Purv Marg to pave the way for the construction of the flyover connecting Zirakpur and Tribune Chowk, along with the construction process.

HC vacated stay in May

On May 1, the Punjab and Haryana High Court vacated the stay on the cutting of trees for the project. The Bench ruled that the stay granted on November 20, 2019, had set Chandigarh back by a decade. The city was conceptualised in 1950 and could not continue to remain the same, the court had observed.

Based on the updated rates and price escalation, the UT Engineering Department had submitted the revised cost estimate of nearly Rs 245 crore for approval to the ministry in May.

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 the Dakshin Marg.

Chandigarh