The Himachal Pradesh government has identified land in Dipra village in Solan for setting up of an Excise and Taxation toll barrier on the Pinjore- Parwanoo bypass, which is near completion and is expected to be open to traffic in January.

The work on the barrier in Dipra, on the Himachal border, is likely to start soon and is expected to become operational by March. The location for setting up of toll barrier at Dipra has been approved in consultation with district officials of Solan, said Chandigarh National Highway Authority (NHAI) project manager Anil Kumar Dahiya.

Another official at the NHAI said that a proposal for setting up of a toll barrier at Dipra was sent by the state government.

We approved the site only after we were satisfied that the traffic at barrier point will be smooth, he said. Before approving the site we made sure that the traffic entering Himachal should not face hiccups like the present barrier on the highway at Solan. We want that motorists should have a smooth drive on the bypass.

The Parwanoo-Pinjore bypass was initially to be completed by August 2010, but the project was delayed as the land was not transferred to the NHAI. After missing the deadline, NHAI had submitted an affidavit in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, claiming that the road would be ready by December 2011, if they were allotted the forest land by March 2011. While the NHAI claims that there were a lot of delay in transfer of land, they expect the road to become functional by January.