Chandigarh, Oct. 26 -- The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is all set to open bids for the 200-ft-wide, six-lane Zirakpur ring road project next month. Once complete, it will help decongest Chandigarh roads by providing an alternative route for Shimla-bound traffic from Ambala. Work is expected to begin early next year and be completed within two years, as per officials. The proposed 16.5-km bypass will begin from the Patiala-Zirakpur light point (airport junction) and end at the old Panchkula light point. It will cross the McDonald's on the Ambala-Zirakpur highway and pass through Peer Mushalla, Sanoli, Gazipur, and Nagla - all villages in Mohali district - before merging with the road dividing Sectors 20 and 21 in Panchkula. A senior NHAI official confirmed that bids will be opened on November 21, after which the contract will be awarded. "Once allotted, construction will start within two months," the official said. The project is expected to prevent nearly 1.5 lakh vehicles from Punjab and Haryana from entering Chandigarh daily, thus easing congestion on major city roads such as Madhya Marg and Dakshin Marg. It will also provide an alternative corridor from Panchkula to the new international airport terminal in Mohali, allowing vehicles to skirt Chandigarh altogether. It is also strategic from the defence point-of-view, serving as a direct link from the Chandimandir Western Command headquarters to the Chandigarh airport. Besides, it will help Shimla-bound traffic bypass the bottleneck at Zirakpur and join the Shimla highway at the Panchkula end. Similarly, traffic from Shimla bound for Ambala or Delhi will be able to avoid Zirakpur altogether. The project aligns with Chandigarh's Master Plan, which recommends diverting inter-state traffic away from the city for better traffic management. It will connect with major routes including the Shimla-Kalka highway, Pinjore, Baddi, Yamunanagar, and Majri Chowk in Panchkula. During the September 2 meeting of the Unified Metro Transportation Authority (UMTA), chaired by UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria, NHAI officials highlighted how rapid urbanisation in Mohali, Zirakpur, and Panchkula has increased traffic in the tricity. To address this, the Northern Zonal Council had earlier proposed a ring road around Chandigarh, to be developed jointly by NHAI, Punjab, Haryana, and the UT on a cost-sharing basis. Work on the project originally began in 2013 but was halted in February 2014 after landowners went to court seeking higher compensation. In 2017, the project received formal approval from then Union home minister Rajnath Singh during a Northern Zonal Council meeting in Chandigarh....