The four laning of the Ludhiana-Talwandi Bhai road in Punjab, India was a failure as it was not completed by the scheduled date and only around 53% of the physical work was finished. Key reasons for the failure included a lack of proper control and oversight by the Punjab government, inadequate initial planning and budgeting, issues with project financing, and alleged corruption. The project involved widening the existing two lane road to four lanes but faced challenges with coordination between the multiple organizations involved and meeting construction milestones on time. Lessons from this project highlight the importance of strict government oversight, contingency planning, and preventting corruption to successfully deliver large infrastructure projects.

1. Running head: FOUR LANING LUDHIANA-TALWANDI BHAI ROAD PROJECT 1
Research Paper
on
Four laning Ludhiana-Talwandi Bhai Road Project
Gurpartap Singh Toor
(N01193805)
Humber College

2. FOUR LANING LUDHIANA-TALWANDI BHAI ROAD PROJECT 2
Success and failure are two sides of a coin and there are number of factors which lead a
project to success or failure. This research paper discusses various socio-cultural and technical
factors that contributed to the failure Ludhiana-Talwandi Bhai four laning road project in the
state of Punjab, India.
Four laning of Ludhiana-Talwandi Bhai road was a government project with the main
purpose of widening the road from two lanes to four lanes and providing more efficient
transportation services. National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) was assigned with the
responsibility of completing the project.
There are various technical and sociocultural dimensions that play very important role in
success or failure of any project. The four laning project failed drastically because due
importance was not given to socio-technical dimensions and this research paper will discuss the
various sociocultural and technical dimensions of the project in detail.
Overview of Project
Four laning the National Highway-95 section from Ludhiana to Talwandi Bhai
commenced on March 26, 2012 and the scheduled date for completion was September 21, 2014.
Punjab government handed over the project to National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)
and rights of stretch were given to Essel Ludhiana Talwandi Toll Road Private Limited with
concession period of 29 years. Louis Berger Group Inc. USA in association with Louis Berger
Consulting Pvt. Ltd. India was hired as independent engineer and PAN India infrastructure Pvt.
Ltd. was assigned with responsibility of Engineering, Procurement, and Construction. The main
purpose of the four laning project was to widen the two lane section of Ludhiana-Talwandi Bhai
section of NH 95 to four lane divided carriageway and widening/constructing new bridges,
thirteen Box culverts and fifty-one Hume pipe culverts, ROBs, strengthening of exiting

3. FOUR LANING LUDHIANA-TALWANDI BHAI ROAD PROJECT 3
pavements, roadside drainage (Louis Berger Group Inc., 2014). The project also involved
compensation for acquisition of land for improvement of junctions and construction of Toll
Plaza.
The four laning project was initially awarded for Rs. 479 crores to National Highways
Authority of India (NHAI) but the total cost of the project was Rs. 735 crores from which Rs.
594 was spent on Engineering, Procurement, and Construction. Scheduled date to start
construction was September 21, 2012 and target dates for start of construction of bridges and
facilities were March 25 and September 26, 2013. The biggest risk associated with the project
was safety of the people and worker and disruption of traffic due to construction works.
The execution of the project was on tract as the first milestone to finish the construction
of highways on September 21, 2012 was achieved and the second milestone to finish
construction of bridges was also achieved on time but the third milestone to Finish construction
of facilities was not met. Last milestone was to complete the project on September 21, 2014, this
goal was also not achieved as only 53% of physical work was done.
The four laning project is still in the execution stage as the construction of facilities has
not been finished and roads and bridges are incomplete. New schedules have been prepared and
responsibilities are assigned to complete the project.

4. FOUR LANING LUDHIANA-TALWANDI BHAI ROAD PROJECT 4
Technical and Sociocultural Dimensions
Sociocultural Dimensions
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had to face many Sociocultural challenges
as the firm had to work with three other organizations, Essel Ludhiana Talwandi Toll Road
Private Limited, Louis Berger Group Inc. USA in association with Louis Berger Consulting Pvt.
Ltd. India and PAN India infrastructure Pvt. Ltd., and NHAI also had to report to the Punjab
government. Each of these organizations have different structures and cultures and these
differences pose great challenge in communication and problem solving. The leadership and
communication style between these organizations is shown in figure 1.
Figure 1
Any changes in budget had to be approved by the government of Punjab. Initial estimated
cost was Rs. 479 crores, but when the concessionaire (Essel Ludhiana Talwandi Toll Road
Private Limited) estimated the total project cost (735 crores), additional funds were provided by
National Highways Authority of India
Essel Ludhiana Talwandi
Toll Roads Pvt. Ltd.
Louis Berger Group, Inc in
Asso. With LBC Pvt. Ltd.-
USA
Pan Indian Networks Pvt.
Ltd.
EsselLudhiana Talwandi Toll Roads Pvt.
Ltd.

5. FOUR LANING LUDHIANA-TALWANDI BHAI ROAD PROJECT 5
the government of Punjab. Involvement of three other organizations made it really difficult to
implement solid means of problem solving, which led to incompletion of the project.
The deliverables of the projects were four lane road, bridges, facilities and flyovers and
the main purpose of the project was to provide effective and efficient transportation services
especially to commuters. Customer’s expectations were timely completion of bridges and
highways without any disturbance of traffic. Safety of the people and workers were also an
important part of the project.
Technical Dimensions
Technical dimensions of lane laning of NH-95 project are shown in table no.1.
Table No. 1
Technical Dimensions
Project
Objectives
o To widen the existing two-lane road to four-lane road.
o Strengthening/Constructing new twelve bridges, thirteen Box culverts and
fifty-one Hume pipe culverts.
o Building other facilities like Bus bays, Trucks lay byes vehicular
underpass, Toll plazas and Pedestrian underpass.
o Safety of people and construction workers during construction.
Project Cost Rs. 735 crores
Length of Project 910 days (March 26, 2012 to September 21, 2014)
Work Breakdown
Structure
Construction of Highways 10% of capital cost September 21, 2012
(180th day)
Construction of bridges and culverts 35% of capital cost March 25, 2013
(365th day)
Construction of the Facilities 70% of capital cost September 26, 2013
(550th day)
Scheduled date of completion 100% of capital
cost
September 21, 2014
(910th day)

6. Running head: FOUR LANING LUDHIANA-TALWANDI BHAI ROAD PROJECT 6
Analysis of Project Success or Failure
The Four laning Ludhiana-Talwandi Bhai project was a failure because all deliverables
were not delivered on the scheduled completion date of the project, September 21, 2014. There
were various factors led this project to failure and these factors are:
 Inefficient Control: Punjab government did not exercise any control over the working of the
project and did not take any action when the third milestone (construction of facilities) was
not achieved. Top management control over the activities and support are very essential
sociocultural dimensions in any project. The government of Punjab did not take any strict
action when yearly progress was not schedule and this ignorance on the part of government
led to incompletion of the project.
 Improper Planning and Finance management: Initial project cost estimate was Rs. 479
crores, but the concessionaire estimated the total cost to be Rs. 735 crores. National
Highways Authority of India (NHAI) did not plan any problem solving measure as it did not
take any immediate actions when varaha Infrastructure terminated their contract with PAN
India infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. because Rs. 50 crores were not paid and work was stopped from
October, 2013 to July, 2015 (Narula, 2016).
 Corruption: Corruption was another responsible for failure of the project. According to the
letter wrote by authorities to chairman of Essel group highlighted that the concessionaire had
withdrawn Rs. 653 crores from the escrow account of project whereas only Rs. 278 crores
worth physical work was done (Seth, 2014). Corruption on the part of Essel group was
responsible for improper management of finance and proper allocation of funds is another
important technical dimension of any project.

7. FOUR LANING LUDHIANA-TALWANDI BHAI ROAD PROJECT 7
 Failure to provide safety: Providing safety to the peoples during construction was also a
main objective of the project and it failed to achieve this objective as 88 accidents and 50
deaths were caused on the highway that passes through Moga district during construction.
(Seth, 2014).
Suggestions for improvement
First and foremost, Punjab government should exercise strict control over the government
projects and should closely overview the execution of the projects. Secondly, proper planning
and budget estimation are two key elements to the success of any project, so National Highways
Authority of India (NHAI) should spend more time on these factors. Thirdly, there are always
some risk associated with every project and therefore, National Highways Authority of India
(NHAI) should make contingency plans to avoid unnecessary stoppage of work, in case anything
goes wrong. Finally, corruption is a very serious issue and to ensure that the government funds
are utilized properly, government of Punjab should take stringent actions against those who are
accused of corruption.
Conclusion
Four laning Ludhiana-Talwandi Bhai project was a disaster because only half of estimated
physical work was done on the scheduled date of completion and ignorance on the part of
government, inadequate planning and budgeting and corruption played key roles in the failure of
the project. Understanding the various socio-technical dimension of the project and their impact
on success or failure of the project is very important in order to manage any project successfully.
Making contingency plans in case anything goes wrong, is essential to ensure uninterrupted
execution of the project.

8. FOUR LANING LUDHIANA-TALWANDI BHAI ROAD PROJECT 8
References
Louis Berger Group Inc. (2014, Sep 10). Monthly progress report for month of September 2014.
Retrived from
http://nhai.org.in/spw/IEReport/MPR%20for%20the%20month%20of%20September-
2014.pdf
Narula, P.S. (2016, Apr 18). Ludhiana-Talwandi Bhai four-laning project in limbo. Retrived from
http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/ludhiana-talwandi-bhai-four-laning-stuck-in-the-
middle/story-QBMJ7zMPTnDp7ZayMyxfQI.html
Seth, A. (2014, Dec 23). Ludhiana-Talwandi Bhai four-laning: Stuck in the middle. Retrived
from http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/ludhiana-talwandi-bhai-four-laning-stuck-
in-the-middle/story-QBMJ7zMPTnDp7ZayMyxfQI.html

9. FOUR LANING LUDHIANA-TALWANDI BHAI ROAD PROJECT 9