Islamabad signal free corridor: Incomplete road remains a torture for commuters

People miss flights, appointments stuck in traffic jams for several hours, ITP does little to help

ISLAMABAD: Commuters living along the Islamabad Expressway have made a fervent appeal to authorities concerned to save them from daily agony of getting stuck in traffic jams for hours, endangering lives of patients and wasting precious fuel.

The commuters - hailing from dozens of housing societies, along the Islamabad Expressway from Koral to Rawat have to bear the torture of finding a way through the long lines of heavy vehicles, buses and cars, stretching  kilometers.

Agony of daily travelers on Islamabad Expressway has exacerbated over the years with the deterioration of the road, increased traffic and the delay on the much trumpeted "Signal-free Corridor" as heavy traffic jams continue to pollute the environment.

"We have made many appeals, media has reported about problems of the commuters repeatedly, yet the civic body responsible for the mess has failed to respond," said Yousuf Gul a resident of a housing society in Rawat. "People miss their flights, students cannot reach on time for their examinations, patients rushing to hospitals risk their lives, but the CDA seems to be least bothered," he said.

When work started two years ago on Islamabad Signal Free Corridor, the people residing along the Expressway from Koral Chowk to Rawat had heaved a sigh of relief with a desire of smooth traveling on a widened road. However the residents instead experienced dire disappointment when all of a sudden the work stopped on the project apparently due to scarcity of funds and adversities plagued people in the form of accidents and frequent traffic blockages on one of the busiest roads in the capital.

Traveling from Gulberg Chowk to Rawat can be an exhausting experience for commuters spoiling their precious time and wreaking havoc with their vehicles through the excessive use of the 'clutch, brake and accelerator' combo. Traveling on this road is a painstaking exercise every day for the people who shifted to the suburbs of the capital in a quest to avoid rushes and traffic jams. The traffic jams now have them thinking that the millions of rupees they spent on buying new houses in the countryside have no gone to waste due to the persistent problem.

Driving on any of the three lanes of the dilapidated road during peak rush hours is a nuisance in itself but lethargy of the traffic police only adds to the burden of the drivers. On Tuesday, the excessive apathy of Islamabad Traffic Police was witnessed on Islamabad Expressway  when the tyres of a truck burst in the middle of the road, creating serious problems for commuters who were traveling on the way to their offices, businesses and any other chores in the capital city.

It came as a surprise for all the commuters and citizens of the twin-cites that the Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) had made no arrangements to remove the truck from the middle of the road to clear the way. The traffic jam started nearly around 7:45 when two tyres of a truck on way to Faizabad burst suddenly near Gulberg Intersection, blocking the thoroughfare for traffic heading towards Faisal Avenue for more than four hours.

The Islamabad Traffic Police essentially failed to streamline the traffic and remove the truck from this jugular highway, which is main thoroughfare connecting the Islamabad City with Grand Trunk Road. "The traffic jam was caused due to bursting of tyres near Gulberg Intersection," confirmed a senior police official and asserted that police had enhanced deployment of its personnel at the spot to ensure smooth flow of traffic on the road.

He said that the Islamabad Traffic Police had also called a motor mechanic to remove the mechanical fault of the truck to remove it from the middle of the road and ensure smooth flow of traffic. Commuters traveling on the highway expressed anguish over the lack of arrangements to deal with such emergencies. "We were caught in the middle of the road for hours, bearing the scorching and sizzling heat and unfortunately there were no arrangements made by the traffic police to move a truck from the road which had caused traffic blockage," said Aftab Zahoor, a commuter who was caught in the traffic mess. Another commuter Zahoor Ahmed who was traveling on the road said that traffic jams on the way have become routine adding that had the project been completed on time, it would have provided a great relief to people. He said that the journey could be covered in just 10 minutes, now takes hours for commuters who travel on the thoroughfare every day.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 11^th, 2018.