Kutchery Chowk project 92pc complete, opening expected by May 31
RAWALPINDI: Construction on the Rs19 billion Kutchery Chowk remodelling project has reached 92 per cent completion, and the road is expected to be handed over to the district administration in the last week of May, according to the Punjab Communication and Works Department.
Punjab Highway Department Executive Engineer Qamar Ali Saqib said the roads on the flyovers and underpasses at Kutchery Chowk had been completed and were likely to be opened for traffic by May 31.
He said work on a pedestrian bridge at Kutchery Chowk was also nearing completion to facilitate pedestrians, while a drainage system was being developed in the area.
Saqib said the Parks and Horticulture Agency had almost finished work on the green belts and had planted trees along the roads. He added that lampposts had been installed and cleaning work had begun along the flyovers and underpasses.
According to him, Punjab Minister for Communication and Works Malik Sahaib Ahmed Bherth and the department secretary were seeking weekly reports on the pace and quality of work and had directed that the project be completed within the deadline whereas now it was being opened way before that.
“Though it was an 18-month project, FWO made it an example by completing it within six months, working day and night so people would not suffer due to road closures,” he added.
Saqib said the work began in the last week of November and would be completed by May 31. He said that, for quality assurance, FWO and the Punjab Communication and Works Department had formed teams to inspect materials at every stage.
Officials said two flyovers and three underpasses were being built at the same time to handle more than 250,000 vehicles a day.
According to officials, a four-lane flyover has been built between The Mall and Rashid Minhas Road. An underpass measuring 26.5 feet in width provides access from the old Airport Road to Saddar, and the total traffic count on this section is 197,000 vehicles per day.
They said the Annexy Chowk, or Jinnah Park, flyover and underpass had been designed to manage 142,035 vehicles daily. The flyover has been constructed between Mushtaq Baig Shaheed Road and the old Airport Road, while an underpass has also been built from Kutchery Chowk to Mushtaq Baig Shaheed Road.
A single-barrel, two-lane underpass has also been constructed from Iftikhar Janjua Road to Kutchery Chowk to manage 146,252 vehicles daily. Officials said it is 18 feet high and 26.25 feet wide.