Punjab Public Works Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO on Tuesday said that the old NH-15/54 road connecting Amritsar and Tarn Taran, the two historic districts of Majha region, will be upgraded into a four lanning road at a cost of Rs 69.67 Crore, and the project will be initiated on February 1.
Revealing this in a press communiqué issued here, the PWD Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO said that at present the carriageway of this section of Road is 9.75 meters, and sufficient right of way is available with the state PWD, thus, no land acquisition is required for its up-gradation. He said that the total civil cost of this project is Rs. 61.24 Crore and the cost of utility shifting (including diversion of forest land, tree cutting, electrical & others) is Rs.8.43 Crore.
Disclosing further, the PWD Minister said that these 2 important Districts were connected by the old NH-15/54 stretch, and now, this section has been bypassed by the Amritsar-Bathinda section (NH-54). He said that even after the construction of the new road, the traffic on this section has increased manifold and current traffic on this stretch is around 50,000 PCUs. He said that this whole stretch has its own importance as a number of historical Gurudwaras are situated on this section.
“Moreover, this section falls under the master plan of Punjab Urban Planning & Development Authority. Mega units of paddy processing and several rice mills are situated on this road. It also acts as an approach road to major grain markets of Amritsar as well as Tarn Taran”, he added.
The Minister said that a new railway over bridge (ROB) has been constructed by the PWD with funding of MORT&H on level crossing A-12 recently and another ROB on this section at level crossing A-25 is soon going to be started as this project is under tendering process. He said that the four lanning of this road would not only help in easing the traffic movement but would also accelerate the development of the areas adjacent to this road.