A senior official of the engineering wing said that the bids on the tender will open on August 10. (Representational)
The Chandigarh administration will be introducing a system of lay-bys for buses in the city. These are being introduced on the pattern of cities abroad. The project is likely to be completed in three months.
These lay-bys will be constructed by the engineering department on various stretches. A tender in this regard has been floated at various locations in sectors 4, 27,19,21,22,23,42,51, Dakshin Marg, Shanti Path, sector 46 side.
According to the details, these will be constructed at a cost of Rs 22.17 lakh. The transport department, had suggested that the lay-bys be carved out near bus-queue shelters on city’s major roads, depending upon the space available, in the last Road Safety Committee meeting.
A senior official of the engineering wing said that the bids on the tender will open on August 10. “As soon as the bids open and the contractor qualifies, it will take around three months for constructing these. Once they are developed, we will introduce them at other places where space allows,” the official said.
Once the lay-bys are marked on the roads, the buses can halt there. They will also be challaned for stopping anywhere else on the road. This has been done keeping in mind the accidents that are caused by autorickshaws and buses stopping suddenly in the middle of moving traffic.
Dakshin Marg, particularly the stretch towards Zirakpur witnessed a major problem. Buses and auto rickshaws often stop near the Sector 35 roundabout, which is otherwise not a designated spot for them. This causes a bottleneck, especially during peak traffic hours.
At the housing board point too, buses stop on the main road itself, leading to traffic congestion.
At some places, the traffic police have earmarked spaces for buses and auto rickshaws to stop in order to avoid accidents.