New Cantt-Gulberg flyover planned
Bridge would run parallel to Jinnah Flyover.
LAHORE:
The Lahore Development Authority (LDA) plans to build a new one-kilometre flyover parallel to Jinnah Flyover to improve the traffic flow between Gulberg and Cantonment/Defence, The Express Tribune has learnt.
The flyover would start at Mahmood Ali Kasuri Road, 500 metres from Hussain Chowk, and end at Shaukat Hamdani Square at the intersection of Shaami Road and Khursheed Alam Road.
The bridge will go over the railway line along the low income area of Hussainabad and an army unit.
Jinnah Flyover is the main point of entry to Gulberg for residents of Cavalry Ground, Defence and nearby areas. It has become increasingly busy, and is usually packed with traffic from Cavalry Ground to Firdous Market, especially at peak hours.
“Once built, the bridge will facilitate thousands of commuters daily and help ease traffic congestion,” Israr Saeed, the director of the Traffic Engineering and Planning Agency (Tepa), told The Express Tribune.
He said at least 24 kanals of land in Hussainabad need to be acquired for a right-of-way of 80 feet.
He said that negotiations with the Cantonment Board regarding the acquisition of land of the army unit had been concluded and the board had issued a no-objection certificate (NOC) to build the flyover.
The Tepa director said that the flyover would cost about Rs1.8 billion to build, but that did not include the cost of the private land which had to be bought.
He said that the price of the land would be determined by the District Price Committee along with the land acquisition collector and chief metropolitan officer. The work in this regard will be completed soon, he said.
He said that the feasibility report for the project would be presented to Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif for briefing and approval.
The bridge is part of a wider plan to ease traffic congestion in Gulberg, the central business and commercial district of the city, said Saeed. Under the plan, MM Alam Road would be made a one-way street, from Hussain Chowk to Mini Market.
“Cars coming from the Jinnah Flyover will not be allowed to turn back towards the bridge once they enter MM Alam Road. The new bridge will mainly be an exit point towards Cantt,” the Tepa director said.
Parking
The other major component of the plan would be to build four parking plazas near Liberty Market and MM Alam Road. The four proposed locations for these plazas are a site vacated by a petrol pump in front of the HKB shopping mall; at Ghalib Market; at the ground near Mini Market on MM Alam Road; and at the main parking area in Liberty Market.
He said that once these plazas are built, parking in the area would be “like a dream”.
An LDA official said that the parking plaza project was an urgent need for the city, but the Punjab government was chronically short of money, so the LDA plans to fund the construction through public private partnerships.
Published in The Express Tribune February 3rd, 2011.
The Lahore Development Authority (LDA) plans to build a new one-kilometre flyover parallel to Jinnah Flyover to improve the traffic flow between Gulberg and Cantonment/Defence, The Express Tribune has learnt.
The flyover would start at Mahmood Ali Kasuri Road, 500 metres from Hussain Chowk, and end at Shaukat Hamdani Square at the intersection of Shaami Road and Khursheed Alam Road.
The bridge will go over the railway line along the low income area of Hussainabad and an army unit.
Jinnah Flyover is the main point of entry to Gulberg for residents of Cavalry Ground, Defence and nearby areas. It has become increasingly busy, and is usually packed with traffic from Cavalry Ground to Firdous Market, especially at peak hours.
“Once built, the bridge will facilitate thousands of commuters daily and help ease traffic congestion,” Israr Saeed, the director of the Traffic Engineering and Planning Agency (Tepa), told The Express Tribune.
He said at least 24 kanals of land in Hussainabad need to be acquired for a right-of-way of 80 feet.
He said that negotiations with the Cantonment Board regarding the acquisition of land of the army unit had been concluded and the board had issued a no-objection certificate (NOC) to build the flyover.
The Tepa director said that the flyover would cost about Rs1.8 billion to build, but that did not include the cost of the private land which had to be bought.
He said that the price of the land would be determined by the District Price Committee along with the land acquisition collector and chief metropolitan officer. The work in this regard will be completed soon, he said.
He said that the feasibility report for the project would be presented to Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif for briefing and approval.
The bridge is part of a wider plan to ease traffic congestion in Gulberg, the central business and commercial district of the city, said Saeed. Under the plan, MM Alam Road would be made a one-way street, from Hussain Chowk to Mini Market.
“Cars coming from the Jinnah Flyover will not be allowed to turn back towards the bridge once they enter MM Alam Road. The new bridge will mainly be an exit point towards Cantt,” the Tepa director said.
Parking
The other major component of the plan would be to build four parking plazas near Liberty Market and MM Alam Road. The four proposed locations for these plazas are a site vacated by a petrol pump in front of the HKB shopping mall; at Ghalib Market; at the ground near Mini Market on MM Alam Road; and at the main parking area in Liberty Market.
He said that once these plazas are built, parking in the area would be “like a dream”.
An LDA official said that the parking plaza project was an urgent need for the city, but the Punjab government was chronically short of money, so the LDA plans to fund the construction through public private partnerships.
Published in The Express Tribune February 3rd, 2011.