The Punjab government plans to undertake a major infrastructure revamp in the state, covering over 13,000-km roads and involving four-laning, six-laning, widening and upgrading of all key transport arteries with an investment of Rs 11,000 crore.
Talking to media persons, chief minister?s media advisor, Harcharn Bains said the next two years would see all major destinations in the state interconnected and connected with the rest of the country with state-of-the-art road network.
Among the more significant roads, Bains said Shambu-Jalandhar road would be completed by March 2011. Work on four-laning of highways worth Rs 2,225 crore would be completed within the next 6 months. These roads include Kurali-Kiratpur Sahib, Amritsar-Wagha road, Jalandhar -Dhilwan, Dhilwan-Amritsar, Ludhiana-Malerkotla, Kharar – Landran, Desu Majra – Kharar, Pathankot – Amritsar, Jalandhar – Pathankot. Apart from these, work on five new four-lane roads at a cost of Rs 2,515 crore including Kharar – Ludhiana, Ludhiana – Talwandi Bhai, Zirakpur – Patiala, Patiala – Sangrur – Bathinda would be taken up soon.
Two high-level bridges at a cost of Rs 100 crore at Sarai ka Pattan over Satluj and Gidderpindi near Makhu over Satluj would be completed this year. 1,370 km of new link roads out of 1,792 km had been completed at a cost of Rs 300 crore and likewise, 9,611-km link roads had been repaired out of total 11,842 km at a cost of Rs 1,922 crore.
The department had also carried out the widening and strengthening of 500-km roads in border areas. Under the Punjab state road project of Rs 2,700 crore, 700 km under first phase is nearing completion and work on 950 km is in progress this year.