Once diversion roads are paved, one ramp of the Board Office flyover will be demolished in August. PHOTO: AYSHA SALEEM/EXPRESS
KARACHI: The historic Board Office flyover is all set to come tumbling down in August to make way for the Green Line Bus Rapid Transit.
The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) has issued a no-objection certificate to the Karachi Infrastructure Development Company Limited (KIDCL), a firm hired by the federal government to undertake the Rs16 billion project. According to the certificate, one ramp of the flyover that goes from Hyderi towards Nazimabad will be demolished next month, said KIDCL technical manager Syed Qaiser Ali. The other ramp will be demolished later.
According to Ali, the Board Office flyover, which seems like a single structure, is actually two flyovers. Initially, they will demolish the track going towards Nazimabad from Hyderi and then move to the other, he explained.
Earlier, KIDCL chief financial officer Bilal Memon told The Express Tribune that they have divided the construction of the Green Line into four packages and the demolition of the Board Office flyover comes under package number two. This Rs1.1-billion package, Memon explained, includes three flyovers at Sakhi Hassan Chowrangi, Five Star Chowrangi and KDA Chowrangi.
Big bang
What method will the construction workers use to demolish the structure? Ali said they will use heavy machinery to pull it down and not dynamite. For the rubble, he said, that the useful material will be used to backfill the ramps of the other three flyovers being constructed for the project. The remaining useless material will be used when parks are being built in the low-lying areas, he added.
Traffic diversion
Before demolishing the flyover, KIDCL will build service roads on both sides of the flyover, said Ali, adding that they hope this will address the traffic congestion issue. With the help of the traffic police and District Central deputy commissioner Captain (retd) Fariduddin Mustafa, the consultants have planned proper diversion for the traffic, pointed out Ali.
Meanwhile, North Nazimabad Traffic DSP Nadeem Farooqui explained that the traffic moving from Hyderi towards Nazimabad will be given two diversions. One will be the service road behind Saima Bridge View apartments, adjacent to the Board Office flyover that connects with Imtiaz Supermarket, he said.
The second will be on the track of the Board Office flyover that comes from Nazimabad and heads towards Hyderi, he added. The traffic on this track will be diverted to the other service road below the flyover, said Farooqui. He assured that all the service roads will be properly paved and K-Electric's poles on the roads will be removed before the demolition starts.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 30th, 2016.
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