SHIMLA, JUNE 20: Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Friday announced an allocation of ₹150 crore for widening and improving Shimla's Circular Road, the city's principal traffic artery.
However, the ambitious project is likely to face formidable challenges on the ground, as large stretches of the road are hemmed in by buildings, shops, government establishments and private properties, leaving little room for expansion.
The announcement came in the presence of UD and PWD Minister Vikramaditya Singh and others while inaugurating a multi-storeyed parking facility at the SDA Complex in Kasumpti, built at a cost of ₹28.37 crore and capable of accommodating 315 vehicles.
Describing the Circular Road as Shimla's lifeline, Sukhu said the project aims to ease chronic traffic congestion and improve mobility for residents and tourists.
Yet the proposal raises a fundamental question: where will the additional road width come from? Some fear it would spell disaster and ruined the city as it has no space left.
Much of the Circular Road passes through densely built-up areas where widening would require land acquisition, demolition of structures and relocation of utilities.
Ironically, several stretches of the Circular Road that were widened in previous years have gradually been converted into roadside parking spaces, effectively bringing the widening exercise back to square one.
Traffic experts argue that unless strict parking management accompanies the new investment, additional carriageway width could once again be swallowed by parked vehicles.
One of the most notorious bottlenecks remains the stretch near the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation Lift parking complex, where traffic frequently crawls during peak hours.
While a second double-lane bridge in the area is nearing completion and is expected to improve connectivity, concerns remain over the entry and exit points of the parking complex near the High Court Road junction.
Urban planners say these access points continue to choke traffic flow and could undermine the benefits of the new bridge unless redesigned.
The proposal is expected to trigger difficult questions about which establishments may have to make way for the widening drive and whether the administration is prepared to undertake politically sensitive eviction measures.
With Shimla already struggling with limited space, parking shortages and a rapidly growing vehicle number, the project could face stiff resistance from affected property owners.
The Chief Minister also highlighted ongoing efforts to modernize the hill capital's infrastructure.
He said the state government is spending ₹246 crore on an underground utility duct system to shift overhead cables underground, a move aimed at improving safety and preserving Shimla's colonial-era skyline.
While the new Kasumpti parking facility offers some relief, transport planners argue that Shimla's congestion problem cannot be solved through road widening alone.
They stress that the city requires a comprehensive mobility strategy that integrates parking regulation, public transport, pedestrian infrastructure and traffic management.
The ₹150-crore Circular Road project may offer a fresh opportunity to address decades-old congestion, but its success will depend less on the budget allocation and more on whether authorities can tackle the bottlenecks, encroachments and parking pressures that have repeatedly neutralized earlier road-widening efforts.
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