Deadline approaching: Peshawar Mor to be closed for traffic

Contractors demand closure of Kashmir Highway to meet 23 March deadline

ISLAMABAD: The under-construction Peshawar Mor Interchange will remain closed for all traffic from today (Saturday) to Thursday, to allow workers to meet the project completion deadline, March 23.

The decision was taken after the contractors demanded closure of the Kashmir Highway for at least six days.

Acting commissioner Rawalpindi Sajid Zafar Dal and Islamabad Traffic Police SSP Malik Matloob Awan told Daily Express that a plan has been prepared to divert traffic from Kashmir Highway to other roads. They said the diversion plan would come into effect on Saturday morning and would remain in place till Thursday.

The authorities have now announced that the Rs5 billion project — dubbed the country’s largest interchange — will be completed by mid-March 2016. It was supposed to be completed in April 2015.

Peshawar Mor Interchange is part of the multi-billion rupee Metro Bus Project. It was included in the metro bus project at a later stage, at the request of the federal government. The federal government would provide roughly Rs4 billion for the interchange, while the Punjab government would pay over Rs1 billion.

The total length of the overhead, underground and ramp roads is approximately 14 kilometres. Under the interchange project, some eight flyovers will be constructed.

Though the authorities have announced to complete the project by March 23, many in the administration are sceptical about it.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th, 2016.