Slip roads to ease out traffic snarls

PANCHKULA: Now it won’t take the usual 25 minutes for commuters to cross the three heavily congested points in Panchkula, as Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) is constructing slip roads near the sectors 7/18 light point, ahead of Sector 8 light point near the liquor vend, and near the Tank Chowk. The authorities claim that by doing so they would be able to ease the congestion and avoid traffic snarls.
As many as 1,475 vehicles per hour pass through the first point, around 1,200 through the second and around 1,100 through the third but the number would come down soon.
When one takes right from Housing Board to enter Panchkula, one witnesses bumper to bumper traffic at the sectors 7/18 light point being the entry of the commuters from Chandigarh to Panchkula. Similar is the situation at the Sector 8 light point near the liquor vend and Tank Chowk, they being in the heart of the city.
“We have identified these time consuming points and have decided to construct slip roads near these areas. This will divert more than half of the traffic and ease the traffic congestion,” said Huda superintending engineer N K Verma.
On the 7/18 point, it takes around 25 minutes to pass through. Similarly on the Sector-8 light point it takes around 15 minutes and near Tank Chowk it takes around 12 to 15 minutes during peak hours. The number of vehicles increase by one-third of the original, during weekends and festivals.
“A slip road is already under construction near the sectors 7/18 point. For people who do not want to wait for the light and wish to take an alternative route can take the slip road. The plans are already ready and in the coming two months, a slip road would be constructed on the left side from the direction of the liquor vend,” added Verma.
“Passing through these points is like a herculean task. The situation of these points during the festival days is all the more terrible. Now with slip roads majority of the traffic would get diverted,” said Sanjana Vasdev, a resident of Sector 20, Panchkula.