The city administration has started development work to convert Murree Road into a signal-free thoroughfare. The project, when completed, will put an end to the traffic snarl-ups on the city’s major thoroughfare.
The signal-free corridor will reduce the commute time which has increased due to traffic jams on Murree Road besides helping to normalise traffic flow on all link roads.
A City Traffic Police (CTP) senior officer told The Express Tribune that development work has begun from Murir Chowk. He said that Mareer Chowk would be expanded in the first phase after which the traffic coming from Kutcheri Chowk would come on Murree Road with no stoppages and head towards Islamabad.
Similarly, the traffic coming from Saddar Kamran market could also reach Kutcheri Chowk with no difficulty.
The traffic police official told The Express Tribune that the Mareer Chowk extension project was on the backburner for many years but has now been revived.
Read One-way traffic violations impede traffic flow
He said all greenbelts on Mareer Chowk have been demolished for road expansion while the width of the metro bus station footpath is also being reduced. He added that vehicles coming from Flashman Chowk to Murree Road would reach Faizabad Interchange without encountering a traffic signal.
Similarly, the extension would enable traffic entering Islamabad Expressway from Murree Road to reach Shah Faisal Mosque encountering no traffic signal.
The traffic official claimed that the completion of signal-free Murree Road would improve traffic flow on all link roads including Committee Chowk, Liaquat Road, Gawalmandi Road, City Saddar Road, Waris Khan Road, Kohati Bazar, Asghar Mall Road, Commercial Market Road, Fifth Road and Sixth Road.
The Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Rai Mazhar Iqbal said that traffic flow is currently disturbed because of construction work and additional traffic wardens have been deployed to ensure smooth flow.
He said that traffic wardens would remain deployed on the signal-free road to ensure traffic rules are followed. He added that motorists of Rawalpindi would experience a change after completion of the project.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 8th, 2021.
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