64pc work on Kutchery Chowk complete; underpasses’ construction begins next month
RAWALPINDI: As 64pc of construction work on the Kutchery Chowk remodeling project worth Rs14 billion has been completed, the Punjab Communication and Works Department is all set to start work on three underpasses on Peshawar Road at a cost of Rs8 billion.
Punjab Highway Department Executive Engineer Qamar Ali Saqib told Dawn that the structures of flyovers and underpasses at Kutchery Chowk had been completed with the start of earth filling and other work. He said utility service providers – Iesco, PTCL and SNGPL – had been asked to lay their services in the dedicated services corridor.
“We are moving forward to meet the deadline of April 30 and the project will be completed on time. The contractor, Frontier Works Organisation (FWO), is doing best job to make the project an example by ensuring the quality of construction and speed of work,” he said.
He said work on a pedestrian corridor at Kutchery Chowk had also been started to facilitate pedestrians. He said a drainage system was also being developed in the area.
Apart from it, he said, work to shift 10 electricity pylons on Peshawar Road from Qasim Market to Chairing Cross square had been started by Iesco, which would be completed by the end of February to start work on three underpasses.
“For the Rs8 billion worth of three underpasses, it has been decided to start work in mid-March as the administration did not want to create traffic rush on the city roads. More than 200,000 vehicles are already using alternative routes,” he said.
He said that by mid-March, 80pc work on the Kutchery Chowk remodeling project is likely be completed. He said Iesco, PTCL, SNGPL and civic bodies had been asked to complete the shifting of services in the dedicated utility services corridor along Peshawar Road.
“The work to relocate trees in and around Peshawar Road will be started by Rawalpindi Cantonment Board once the electricity pylons are relocated,” he said and added that there was a clear direction from the government to not cut trees, but relocate them.
About the utility services-dedicated corridor, Mr Saqib said the Communication and Works Department had come with a new idea to dedicate a side for utility services so the companies will not have to cut the road in future.
It may be mentioned here that two flyovers and three underpasses are being constructed simultaneously to manage more than 250,000 vehicles daily. According to officials, Rs5.974 billion is being spent on one of the projects under which a four-lane flyover will be constructed between The Mall and Rashid Minhas Road.
The underpass will be 26.5 wide and will provide access from the old Airport Road to Saddar. The total traffic count in this section of the road is 197,000 vehicles per day. Moreover, Rs4.672 billion is being spent on Annexy Chowk or Jinnah Park flyover and underpass to manage 142,035 vehicles daily.
The flyover will be built between Mushtaq Baig Shaheed Road and the old Airport Road. There will also be an underpass from Kutchery Chowk to Mushtaq Baig Shaheed Road. The single barrel two-lane underpass worth Rs2.688 billion will be constructed to manage 146,252 vehicles daily from Iftikhar Janjua Road to Kutchery Chowk. It will be 18 feet high and 26.25 feet wide.
Three underpasses worth Rs8 billion will be constructed on Peshawar Road. A total of 250,736 vehicles use this section of the road daily, and the underpasses are expected to allow smooth traffic flow through the area.