Jaipur, Chandigarh to come closer: Here’s why it’s good news for delhi

From this week, the travel time between Jaipur and Chandigarh will reduce by at least three hours and travelling from southern parts of Haryana such as Mahendragarh, Jind and Narnaul to the state capital Chandigarh will take barely two-three hours as the NHAI is set to open a 227km new-alignment and greenfield link on this corridor. The new six-lane access-controlled highway will also reduce the burden of thousands of heavy and polluting vehicles on the arterial roads of Delhi and NCR, which otherwise pass through this region for inter-state travel. The new highway stretch also shows how the traffic coming from Jaipur side to Chandigarh and beyond can use it as a bypass for the entire NCR. Currently, vehicles need to either pass through Delhi or take the Western Peripheral Expressway to bypass the national capital. Similarly, , the traffic coming from Chandigarh side towards Jaipur and Mumbai can use this stretch for faster travel without entering the NCR. Officials said the 340km Trans-Haryana highway was planned to decongest the National Highways linking Delhi, which are getting clogged, and also to accelerate economic activities in relatively backward areas of Haryana. TOI travelled on the greenfield highway stretch on Sunday. “This greenfield link, which is a part of the Ambala-Kotputli Economic Corridor, has reduced the distance between Jaipur a and Chandigarh by 50km. The Trans-Haryana Highway project from Panchkula to Kotputli will open up economic activities across the backward districts of south Haryana. Currently, you see all developments only along the Delhi- Chandigarh and and Delhi-Jaipur stretches,” said a senior central government official. The economic corridor comprises four road projects. While the first stretch of 39km of existing NH from Ambala to Ismailabad has been upgraded, the NHAI has built the 227 km greenfield link between Ismailabad and Narnaul Bypass. The last leg of 44km of the existing NH between Narnaul Bypass and Paniyala Mod near Kotputli has been upgraded. Officials said all the works have been completed without time overrun and the stretch has got the best facilities for commuters. The NHAI has bid out six wayside amenities for commuters and these complexes on both sides of the NH will have restaurants, fuel stations, vehicle charging points and immediate trauma care facilities. “We have used anti-glare in the median of the road to in the median of the road to prevent high-beam light impacting vehicles coming from other directions. For every 30km, we have a crane, ambulance and patrolling vehicle. The video incident detection system is already operational to deal with any emergency,” said an official involved in the project. Source: Times of India