Flyover : commuters’ ordeal for ninety days starts on 9th

[Salman]

Flyover : commuters’ ordeal for ninety days starts on 9th

RAWALPINDI: The groundbreaking ceremony of 6th Road flyover project would be held on September 9 as the construction work of the project would be started from September 8. All traffic signals on Murree Road from Chandani Chowk to Cricket Stadium Road would remain closed for 120 days, which is completion period of the project, while the traffic load of the busiest road of the town would be diverted to other roads under a comprehensive traffic plan chalked out by Islamabad Traffic Police.

The citizens have also been urged to cooperate with the departments concerned and the traffic police staff so that the project could be completed smoothly and efficiently within prescribed timeframe. This was decided in a meeting held under the chairmanship of District Coordination Officer (DCO) Saqib Zafar in his office. The meeting was attended among others by MNA Malik Ibrar Ahmed, Punjab Highways Superintendent (Engineering) Farhat Munir, City Traffic Officer Syed Ishtiaq Shah, ADC-G Saif Anwar Jappa, Rawal Town SP Chaudhry Muhammad Hanif and the officers of NLC, the contractor company.

CTO Syed Ishtiaq Shah and Highways SE Farhat Munir briefed the meeting about the traffic plan and the details of the project. The traffic plan was approved in the meeting that traffic of Saddar to Faizabad would be diverted to other roads, mainly to Chandni Chowk, National Market, Saidpur Road, IJP Road and Double Road. Similarly, the traffic coming from Faizabad to Saddar would be diverted to Farooq-e-Azam Road, Kurri Road, Gaiy Wala Chowk and Chandni Chowk and Murree Road.

It was also decided that traffic police and Punjab highways would jointly prepare direction boards, parking boards and direction banners that would be placed on both sides of Murree Road for the guidance of commuters. Rawal Town TMA staff would remove encroachments from Saidpur Road, Kurri Road and Sadiqabad while the fork lifters of traffic police would lift parked vehicles on these roads and no commuters would be allowed to park their vehicles on these roads. This exercise would be carried out in three months, which is the stipulated period for the completion of the project.

It was also decided that the project of Pir Wadhai underpass and expansion of Chur Chowk Road would also be started soon after the completion of 6th Road flyover. MNA Malik Ibrar Ahmed informed the meeting that Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has approved record funds of Rs 1.78 billion for the development of Cantonment Board areas. The completion of the project would help minimise the traffic problems on Peshawar Road and fulfillment of longstanding demands of the residents of Cantonment Board areas. He further said that he had carried out record development projects in Cantonment Board areas in his constituency during the last four years. The pace of development work would also be continued in future, he added