Chandigarh, July 7: A major regional connectivity upgrade is nearing completion as the 27.37-kilometer Mohali-Sirhind Greenfield Highway prepares to open to the public this September, slashing the travel time between Patiala and Chandigarh to a crisp 60 minutes. The new access-controlled route connects directly with National Highway 44 near Sirhind, establishing a fast-transit corridor that will benefit commuters across Moga, Ludhiana, and Barnala.
The infrastructure push also addresses long-standing safety concerns on adjacent regional roads. Work on the 29-kilometer Sirhind-Patiala stretch, which was once widely feared by motorists due to frequent accidents, is expected to conclude by the end of July. Patiala Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Aggarwal affirmed that workers are currently finishing up the central divider, which will be immediately followed by the application of standard road markings.
The project is highly anticipated by residents who have spent years dealing with slow, unorganized urban sprawl along older transit routes. Unregulated colonies with direct entries onto the main roads have historically choked traffic, a situation worsened by local transit shifts. “The shifting of the interstate bus terminus near Urban Estate Chowk in Patiala turned out to be the biggest bottleneck for commuters heading to Chandigarh,” stated Kamaljit Singh, a resident of Patiala. He added that the numerous traffic lights from Chett Chowk to Mohali routinely leave drivers exhausted.
To resolve these systemic delays, the new design completely alters how traffic moves through the region. Road safety experts asserted that the four-to-six-lane highway will allow drivers to entirely skip the notoriously congested Landran Chowk on State Highway 12A, cutting the specific transit time between Mohali and Sirhind down to half an hour.
National Highways Authority of India Project Director Ashim Bansal maintained that the infrastructure asset is structurally almost ready. “The road has not been opened yet due to the monsoon, as road markings and other works are still pending,” Bansal declared, while confirming a firm September opening timeline. He also shared that the highway is built with dual connectivity points, splitting into two distinct arms to link with Landran on one side and IT City, Mohali on the other.
The promise of a safer, wider highway has been welcomed by professionals who regularly traverse the state’s network. Gurmeet Singh Sondhi, a banker from Moga, noted that motorists are currently forced to use a crowded, single-lane state highway from Fatehgarh Sahib to Landran, a route that has been highly prone to accidents.
Despite the project being in its final maintenance lockdown, excitement has led some locals to bypass barriers to preview the road, sharing their journeys across online platforms. Official monitoring agencies have requested drivers to stay off the tarmac until the formal launch. Bansal strongly urged commuters to avoid the Greenfield stretch for the time being, warning that emergency services and timely mechanical assistance are not yet active on the closed highway.
