Rawalpindi Bypass

Now that the metro-bus project is close to completion it would be appropriate for the government to consider building the Rawalpindi Bypass. As per the plan the route was to take off from the GT Road/Motorway Interchange near Tarnol and then reconnect with the GT Road near Rawat. If this bypass had been built (it was proposed 20 years back) today much of the traffic that has to pass through Rawalpindi/Islamabad would have easily and quickly skirted the twin cities.
Also air pollution in the cities would have been much less. Thanks to the heavy trucks, which are invariably overloaded, roads in Islamabad have been severely damaged. A case in point is the IJP Road. It is so badly rutted that trucks are forced to weave left to right to avoid potholes. By the time the monsoon rains are over this year this road will be totally unusable. The IJP Road was built around eight years ago. Recently, the Kashmir Highway has been rebuilt and widen. Would it not be more cost effective to spend this money on building the Rawalpindi Bypass? Most cities have bypasses. Why can’t Rawalpindi and Islamabad have one?
Syed Hussein El-Edroos
Islamabad