Zero Point interchange: Project expected to hop another deadline

Long queues of vehicles are witnessed everyday at Expressway near Zero Point due to dug-up lanes for reconstruction.

ISLAMABAD: Despite repeated claims to complete the Zero Point Interchange (ZPI) project by the end of this month, the pace of work seems to falter. The Rs2.75 billion project was originally planned to be completed by September 2010. After revision in its cost, the deadline was extended to December 31, 2010.

However, due to the slow pace of construction, it is still awaiting completion.

According to traffic count, around 150,000 vehicles cross the intersection in a single day with a peak flow of 8,500 vehicles per hour.

Long queues of vehicles can be witnessed, especially during office and school timings at the five-lane Expressway near Zero Point due to some dug-up lanes for reconstruction, being carried out at snail’s pace.

“One evening, I left my office at Zero Point at 6:00 pm and reached the Faizabad flyover in 45 minutes, whereas the distance is normally covered in 10 minutes,” said a motorist, Zahir Khan.

When contacted, sources in Capital Development Authority said the civic body was likely to complete the project by the end of current month.

The officials added that now there was no new deadline for the project but the authority was optimistic to get the task completed by the end of ongoing month.

They said bad weather conditions, prolonged monsoon season and security situation were the main reasons behind delay in completion of the project.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 17^th, 2011.