CDA grapples with technicalities as commuters suffer

Islamabad :The Capital Development Authority (CDA) announced a few months ago that it is going to complete remaining part of the ‘Signal Free Five-Lane Islamabad Expressway’ from ‘Korang nullah’ bridge to T-Chowk on GT Road near Rawat out of its own resources.

The whole project was scheduled to be completed by the month of December, 2018. However, with the change of government and non-allocation of funds from the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), it got overly delayed. The money allocated for this project is yet to be released by the Federal Government to the CDA.

Meanwhile, keeping in view the miseries of commuters travelling up and down this highway the CDA decided to start the stalled work on this project out of its own resources. The CDA took the decision after the Chairman of the Authority along with the Inspector-General of Police Islamabad, the Deputy Commissioner and the senior officials from the Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) drove through the length of this part of the Islamabad Highway a few months ago.

The need to resume work on this part of the Islamabad Highway, to turn it into 5-lane, signal free Express Way, is the fact that it is an inter-provincial link highway as well because of which all the heavy transport traverse through Islamabad from Tarnol in the west to Rawat in the east.

Sources in the CDA said that the Authority has already written a letter to get federal government’s consent to resume work on this project of its own resources and the federal government can recoup the money from PSDP allocations later.

“In wake of the fact that the government is well aware of the problems of tens of thousands of motorists commuting on this route every day, we are expecting to get an early response to the request we have made to the ministry in this regard in. As soon the necessary approval from the government is received the work will start on this project,” sources in the CDA told ‘The News’.

The Project Director, Engineer Mumtaz Hussain, when contacted, said that the there won’t be any delay in start of work once the permission from the government is received.

“The priority would be to construct the ‘under pass’ to grant uninterrupted access to PWD and all over residential colonies like Pakistan Town, Korang Town, Bahria Town, Police Foundation, the Media Town and many others. The second priority would be the expansion of the existing two-lane-a-side bridge on Korrang Nullah to five-lane-a-side,” Engr Mumtaz Hussain said.

“The ‘Under Pass’ at PWD entrance could be completed between six to eight months time while the bridge on Korrang Nullah will take from 16 to 18 months because of the depth. Once these two segments of the project, as well as the expansion of the bridge on the railway line, most of the problems being confronted by commuters now will be mitigated to a great extent,” the Project Director said.

Mumtaz Hussain said that a large number of commuters enter or exit the present two-lane Islamabad Highway from PWD, heading for their destinations. “Once the under pass at PWD will be completed the traffic load ahead will thin out considerably,” he added.