Chandigarh, April 24 -- Almost 13 years after conceptualising the high-level (four-lane) bridge over the Sukhna Choe connecting Manimajra and Sector 26, the UT administration approved the project on Thursday. Estimated to cost Rs.16.63 crore, the work on 500-metre long and 26.6-metre wide project is expected to begin by July after a tendering process, with a construction deadline of 12 months, officials said. Envisaged in 2013 under the Chandigarh Master Plan (CMP-2031), the all-weather bridge will bring relief to commuters as the existing low-level causeway faces frequent traffic congestion and often gets submerged during monsoons.

The 13.40-metre-wide causeway acts as a crucial crossing but remains inadequate compared to the four-lane ...