Mohali: Commuters on Mohali’s Airport Road (PR-7) are enduring severe peak-hour bottlenecks due to a frustrating combination of prolonged signal cycles and poorly placed traffic-calming speed bumps. Motorists navigating the key intersections at Sector 68-69 and Sector 68-67 chowks report being trapped by red-light waits lasting nearly 180 seconds, followed by green windows that snap shut in barely 30 seconds.
Bottleneck Worsens with Speed Bumps
The bottleneck worsens when traffic tries to disperse. Commuters note that the newly installed, raised traffic-calming bumps are positioned too close to the crossings. Instead of clearing the junctions rapidly during the short green phases, vehicles are forced to slam on their brakes to clear the bumps, causing long tailbacks that spill into adjoining lanes and force drivers to wait through multiple signal cycles.
Impact on Arterial Routes
The structural flaw disrupts multiple arterial routes. At the Sector 68-69 junction, the bottleneck cripples morning rush-hour commuters around 10.30 am coming from the Sector 78-79 dividing road, as well as those heading from the opposite Sector 68-69 lane. Meanwhile, the Sector 68-67 intersection experiences mirrored gridlock during evening office-departure hours for vehicles traveling from the Sector 79-80 road and the Sector 68-67 neighbourhood approaches. Further complicating the Sector 68-67 chowk is a partially built ramp on the Chandigarh-side approach, which has been barricaded with orange bollards, creating an additional physical hazard that slows down incoming vehicles.
Residents Voice Frustration
Expressing the collective frustration of locals, Sector 85 resident Sukhchain Singh said, “The problem is not just the signal timing or the bump separately, it is both together. You wait for almost three minutes at the red light and then get barely half a minute of green. On top of that, vehicles have to slow down at the raised bump near the chowk, so traffic does not clear the way it should.”
While regular commuters acknowledge that speed-reduction measures are necessary on the high-speed Airport Road corridor—which links Chandigarh, major residential sectors, and the airport—they argue that the current execution defeats its own purpose. Sector 105 resident Hitesh Kalra added, “The intention behind improving roads may be good, but execution matters. When traffic is already heavy, movement should become smooth once green light comes. Instead, vehicles slow down because of the bump right near the chowk and traffic piles up again.”
