Chandigarh, April 24: Travelling to Patiala is set to become costlier as commuters will have to shell out Rs 65 at two toll booths on the four-laned Zirakpur-Patiala highway. The road connects Chandigarh to the Malwa belt in Punjab, including Sangrur, Mansa, Bathinda and Fazilka districts, besides parts of Haryana.
The Punjab government through the public works department (PWD) has written to the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) that four-laning of this stretch of the Chandigarh-Patiala highway (NH-64) is “nearing completion”.
After completion of the project, expected by next month, the Punjab PWD will hand it over to the NHAI.
Thereafter, toll charges will become operational. There are two toll booths – one between Zirakpur and Rajpura, and another on the Rajpura-Patiala road, charging Rs 30 and Rs 35, respectively.
The 50-km project, with an overall expenditure of about Rs 600 crore, is being executed by the subsidiary of a Russian construction company. The stretch will reduce the travel time between Chandigarh and Patiala. Earlier, the project was hanging fire as there was delay in constructing a flyover at Banur.
Source: www.hindustantimes.com
