Panaji: The Public Works Department (PWD) has ordered the closure of a stretch of National Highway 66 (NH 66) from Hotel Neo Majestic to Gauri Petrol Pump in Porvorim for the safety of commuters during the ongoing work on the project of a six-lane elevated corridor. The bandh will start from midnight on Thursday and will end on May 20.PWD executive engineer Gajanan Desai said in the order that “keeping in mind the safety of passengers, to facilitate hassle-free and expeditious completion of the project”, the right side of the existing NH 66 will be closed for all types of vehicular traffic.Traffic on this stretch will use a narrow service road, he said.Traffic going from Panaji towards Mapusa will be diverted from the left side service road near Neo Majestic Hotel. P82 near Delfino Junction will remain closed to traffic on the road connecting to Pundalik Nagar.“Traffic from Betim towards Mapusa will be allowed on the existing right-of-way service road from P85 to NH 66, near Gauri Petrol Pump. Suitable and safe access will be provided at designated places for local residents and establishments on the closed stretch of NH 66,” the PWD order said.Desai’s order said that sign boards indicating diversion, no parking etc. will be displayed at strategic locations by the contracting agency as per the prescribed guidelines of the Indian Road Congress and the Union Highway Ministry, in addition to all necessary road safety measures.The 5.1 km elevated corridor along with access roads is being constructed at a cost of Rs 475 crore, funded by the Union Highway Ministry. The access road to the corridor starts from Hotel Neo Majestic on the southern side.The project is being constructed by RRSM Infra, which recently got an extension till October 2026 to complete the project. To avoid any security related problem to the passengers, the contractor has been directed to complete the major part of the work before the onset of monsoon in June.Work on the six-lane elevated corridor began in September 2024. The initial deadline for completion of the work was April 2026.