The long-awaited Mohali IT City – Kurali expressway opened for vehicular traffic on Monday, delivering immediate relief to commuters by slashing travel time by nearly 45 minutes, even as the overall distance remains largely unchanged.

Built at a cost of Rs 1,525.3 crore, the six-lane, access-controlled Greenfield corridor allows vehicles to travel at speeds of up to 100 kmph, offering uninterrupted, signal-free movement between Mohali and Kurali.

Crucially, the new expressway is expected to decongest the overcrowded Airport Road in Mohali, as inter-state traffic that does not intend to enter Mohali or Kharar can now take this bypass directly from IT City Chowk to Kurali, completely skirting both busy towns. By diverting long-haul vehicles away from internal urban roads, the corridor will sharply reduce congestion, travel delays and pollution on one of the Tricity’s most stressed arterial routes.

Spanning 31.23 km, the expressway has a carriageway width ranging from 12.5 metres to 13.5 metres, including paved shoulders and two-metre earthen shoulders. It has been built with heavy-grade infrastructure, featuring three major bridges, five minor bridges, seven flyovers, 23 underpasses and 83 culverts, ensuring smooth grade-separated crossings throughout. A toll plaza has been established at chainage 19.600 near Bajheri village, though toll collection is yet to be commissioned.

The opening brings to an end a project that had faced repeated delays — first due to incessant monsoon rains and later after farmers launched an indefinite dharna on November 24, blocking the highway just days before its scheduled opening. The impasse was resolved after the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) agreed to review a service-road linkage for local access, following which protesters lifted the blockade. The shifting of BBMB high-tension power lines, the final technical hurdle, was completed soon after, clearing the path for opening.

The corridor forms Package-2 of the Rs 3,166.96-crore, 61.23-km Chandigarh-Ambala six-lane highway, connecting IT City Chowk in Mohali to Kurali via the Kurali-Siswan road. Built over 215 hectares, it is designed as a high-embankment bypass to offload traffic from congested urban stretches in Mohali, Kharar and Kurali, while improving regional connectivity between Delhi, Haryana, Chandigarh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.

NHAI officials said the expressway will significantly improve travel efficiency, road safety and logistics movement while accelerating real estate and economic activity in IT City, New Chandigarh, Kharar and Kurali. The remaining 30-km Package-1 of the corridor — from Ambala-Hisar Road to IT City — is 75% complete and targeted for opening by May 2026, after which the full Chandigarh-Ambala expressway will be operational as a key component of the Tricity ring-road network.

PROJECT DETAILS

• Length: 31.23 km
• Lanes: 6
• Speed limit: 100 kmph
• Width: 12.5 m–13.5 m (including paved shoulder + 2 m earthen shoulder)
• Cost: Rs 1,525.3 crore
• Structures: 3 major bridges, 5 minor bridges, 7 flyovers, 23 underpasses, 83 culverts
• Toll plaza: Ch. 19.600, Village Bajheri (toll not yet commissioned)

WHY IT MATTERS

• Cuts Mohali-Kurali travel time by about 45 minutes
• Diverts inter-state traffic away from Mohali and Kharar
• Eases chronic congestion on Airport Road
• Improves regional connectivity to Punjab, Haryana, HP and J&K
• Strengthens the emerging Tricity ring-road network
• Boosts development across Greater Mohali