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Cities sometimes take so long to act, the world forgets they planned at all. Chandigarh’s long-waiting underpass project is waking the past with intent. After 18 years of planning inertia, Chandigarh’s Urban Planning Department has asked its Engineering Department to finally draw up implementation details for underpasses at nine key traffic junctions. These junctions—ISBT-17 Chowk, Kisan Bhawan Chowk, Transport Chowk, and others—have been choke points for traffic for years. The move is embedded in the city’s official blueprints: the Master Plan 2031 and the 2024 Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) by RITES. What makes this more than another planning memo is its scale and urgency. One underpass (Sector 35/22) is already in the mid-term financial plan for 2026-27. Others are slated for the 2025-26 year. Proposed dimensions are serious—500 meters long, 40 feet wide, 3.5 meters high for some. These aren’t token fixes. Why this matters emotionally: commuters stuck in gridlocks, businesses suffering delays, pedestrians sidelined. It’s the kind of infrastructure most people only notice when it’s broken. Underpasses may feel unglamorous, but they carve out relief—from noise, idling engines, and stress. Still, action comes with trade-offs. Implementation over nine junctions requires funding, coordination across departments, and keeping ecological corridors intact—something the CMP acknowledges. Green corridors are important in a city built with nature integrated in its design. Disruption during construction will also test patience.