Rawalpindi: Airport Road project: PC sets September 30 deadline for work completion

[Naveed Yaseen]

By Aamir Yasin
RAWALPINDI: Planning Commission Member (Monitoring and Implementation) Muhammad Zubair on Friday directed Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) to complete work on the Rs 1.4 billion worth of Airport Road widening and remodeling project by September 30.

He issued these directions during a visit to the project site. Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) Director General Makeen Shahbaz, FWO Director General Major General Javed Iqbal, RDA Director (Engineering) Amir Rashid, Director (Administration and Finance) Raja Shaukat Mahmood and senior FWO officials accompanied him.

The FWO Officials briefed the PC member on the construction of Airport Road, flyover on Railway Bridge at Raheemabad and six intersections at Jinnah Park, Jhanda Chichi, Ammar Chowk, Chaklala Scheme I, Chauhan Chowk and PAF airbase.

Muhammad Zubair directed them to complete work on the project by the end of next month while ensuring good quality of the construction material. He said the widening and remodeling of Airport Road would ease traffic load on the busy artery.

The FWO officials said the road widening and remodeling from Kutchery Chowk to Chauhan Chowk would be completed on time. They further said work on Kutchery Chowk-Ammar Chowk Section of Airport Road had been completed and the artery would be opened to traffic on September 30.

The officials said that besides road widening, footpaths would also be constructed on both sides of the road. They said total length of the road was 5.45 kilometers and the speed limited for it had been fixed at 100 kilometers per hour due to the VVIP movement.

The RDA chief said the Punjab Chief Minister had also directed timely completion of the project. He said the FWO workers had begun working round the clock in three shifts to complete the project within the stipulated time.

He said the road linked Rawalpindi with Islamabad Avenue and would ease traffic load on the city’s other major arteries.

Makeen Shahbaz said the project was being carried out in line with the international traffic engineering standards. He said the RDA would install urban traffic control signals on the Airport Road to improve traffic flow. He said that lane safety measures would be ensured in this respect.

He said the road had been widened by 12 feet to add six more lanes to it. He said drainage system would be improved to prevent accumulation of rainwater on the road, which was close to the Leh Nullah. He said construction of drains alongside the road was underway.

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