CHANDIGARH, Dec 7 — A 244-km, Rs 12,000-crore ring road network is being built around the Tricity to ease the region’s chronic traffic congestion, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials said.
Senior officials overseeing the project said major stretches will be operational by mid-2026, marking the first dedicated outer mobility arc for Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula. “This is no longer just a development project; it is an urgent necessity,” a senior NHAI engineer said. “The city’s internal roads are buckling under sheer demand.”
The ring road includes the six-lane Ambala-Chandigarh Greenfield Corridor, comprising two sections: a 30-km Ambala–IT City Mohali stretch costing Rs 1,641.66 crore, 75% complete and expected to open by May 2026, and a 31.23-km IT City–Kurali section built for Rs 1,525.3 crore, scheduled for December 15. “Once operational, this corridor will bypass Mohali, Kharar and Kurali, reducing pressure on Airport Road and NH-205-A,” officials said.
The four-lane Mohali-Sirhind corridor, 68% complete over 27.37 km at a cost of Rs 1,514.54 crore, will provide an alternative to the overloaded NH-7. Its Sirhind-Sehna extension of 106.92 km, costing Rs 4,598.3 crore, awaits Cabinet approval. Officials said the link will cut Mohali–Bathinda travel by 35 km, saving up to 2.5 hours.
The Rs 1,878.31-crore Zirakpur-Panchkula bypass, delayed due to forest clearance, is expected to begin construction by March-April 2026, with bids opening December 22. The bypass will feature a 6.2-km elevated section, flyovers, a railway overbridge, and nine light underpasses.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari described the project as a “flagship mobility intervention under the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan,” adding that it will “seamlessly link the region while removing chronic bottlenecks on the Zirakpur-Chandigarh corridor.”
Officials said the full ring will progressively take shape through 2026, with the first operational arc comprising the Ambala-IT City, IT City-Kurali, and Mohali-Sirhind stretches. “Once functional, the ring road will redirect thousands of vehicles daily away from Chandigarh’s internal grid, improving air quality and shortening commutes,” an NHAI project head said.
