Malir River Bridge needs upgradation, says DIG traffic

Writes letter to commissioner to make it a four-lane bridge for smooth flow of traffic

KARACHI:

Traffic police have requested the expansion of the Malir River Bridge situated on the National Highway, the first ever bridge in the city's history built on the Malir River.

Traffic police have also sent a letter to the Karachi Commissioner in this regard. It has been stated in the letter that the National Highway Authority built the Malir Bridge in 1970. The bridge has two lanes on each side. To ensure smooth traffic flow, it is necessary to widen the bridge from two to four lanes for swift flow of all vehicular traffic, but it will require a lot of time and cost.

The footpath is six feet wide on each side of the bridge. It is suggested that the width of footpaths should be reduced from six feet to two feet, which will result in an extra space of four feet on both sides of the bridge, which can be used as a lane for motorbike.

If a vehicle breaks down on the Malir River, it can be parked temporarily in extra space until it is removed so that the traffic flow is not disturbed.

The DIG Traffic, Ahmed Nawaz, while talking to The Express Tribune, said that more than 100,000 people commute on Sharea Faisal on daily basis, which is the city's most prominent and busiest highway.

Citizens in large number enter the city from the areas of Port Qasim, Steel Mill, Gulshan-e-Hadeed, Bhains Colony, Razaqabad, Shah Latif Town, Quaidabad and Landhi.

Nawaz added that many factory workers, employed by Pakistan Steel, Pakistan Machine Tool Factory, Landhi Export Processing Zone and nearby areas, use the Malir River Bridge.

He further mentioned that due to the two-lanes and dilapidated condition of Malir River Bridge, the citizens face traffic problems, and it takes them one to one and a half hours to reach their destination. Sometimes there is a severe traffic jam on the Malir River Bridge, resulting in the citizens getting late for their work or to homes.

He said that if the Malir River Bridge is expanded, the traffic problems can be minimised to a great extent.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 27^th, 2022.