Another major traffic jam to hit Karachi

Demolition of Board Office Flyover in District Central to begin on Monday

KARACHI: Beginning Monday, another severe and long traffic jam will hit District Central as, after several months of delay, the historic Board Office Flyover will be demolished.

Despite seeming like a single structure, the flyover actually comprises two separate flyovers. Initially, the track going towards Nazimabad from Hyderi will be demolished and then the other track from Nazimabad towards Hyderi will be knocked down.

The flyover is being demolished to make space for the Green Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system. 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 Rs21 billion Green Line project.



One ramp of the flyover that goes from Hyderi towards Nazimabad will be demolished, said KIDCL technical manager Syed Qaiser Ali. According to him, traffic will be barred from using the flyover from tonight (Sunday).

For the diversion, he claimed that the KIDCL has carpeted the service roads on both the sides of the flyover and he hopes that the traffic will not clog due to the demolition. With the help of the traffic police and District Central deputy commission office, the consultants have planned proper diversions for traffic, pointed out Ali.

Contrary to what Ali claimed, on Saturday the service roads on both the sides of the flyover were full of ditches with open manholes. A huge traffic mess is expected in the entire district during rush hours. Traffic moving from Hyderi towards Nazimabad will be diverted via the service road in front of Hanif Hospital and then behind Saima Bridge View Apartments, that connects to Imtiaz Supermarket.



However, after the Saima Bridge View Apartments, the service road narrows significantly into a spot that will certainly clog traffic.

According to North Nazimabad traffic DSP Nadeem Farooqui, people would have to face problems for a month or two due to the construction of the project. "We don't have any other major diversion [planned] in the area," he said.

For the track of the flyover from Nazimabad towards the Hyderi that will be demolished in the second phase, he said the traffic will be diverted via the service road adjacent to the Board Office. By then, DSP Farooqui said that the flyover's demolished track from Hyderi towards the Nazimbad would have been converted into a broad road, where two-way traffic could easily ply.  Patients going to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital are also likely to great difficulties in traffic mess due to the demolition. proper diversions for traffic.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 27^th, 2016.