Measures approved to address traffic woes

In order to address the growing traffic concerns in the garrison city, the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has granted approval to make three existing highways signal-free and build new underpasses which would greatly help in keeping the traffic flow on the city’s major arteries.

According to sources, the preparations for the implementation of the decision to construct three state-of-the-art underpasses have also been formally started.

The RDA has requested Rs2.58 billion from the provincial government under the annual development programme for the said project.

Under this project, the road between Koral Chowk and Peshawar Mor Motorway Chowk will be made signal free. Rs1.08 billion have been sought for the feasibility and construction of the project from Koral Chowk to Peshawar Mor Motorway Chowk.

The Liaquat Bagh Chowk and Mureer Hasan Chowks will also be made signal-free and underpasses will be constructed at both the locations of the said project.

An amount of Rs1.5 billion has been sought for the construction of both underpasses in the next financial year.

The total cost of these projects has been estimated at Rs5.68 billion. These projects will be completed in the financial year 2024-25.

Mureer and Liaquat Bagh intersections are located on the garrison city’s main thoroughfare, Murree Road, where the traffic flow is always at its peak.

With the construction of new underpasses and making these two intersections signal-free, traffic congestion will be greatly reduced on Murree Road. Both these projects are targeted to be completed in a record period of one year.

According to a traffic survey conducted in 2021, a threefold increase was witnessed in the number of vehicles in the garrison city within a span of five years. The survey also highlighted several engineering and infrastructure problems which were giving rise to the traffic congestion on the city’s main arteries.

It should be noted that motorcycles, rickshaws, animal-driven carts and handcarts were not counted during the survey which was only monitoring vehicle movement.

According to traffic sources, no new infrastructure was built on Murree Road from 2017 till date due to which traffic jams have become a norm.

Soon after the findings of the traffic survey surfaced, the traffic authorities proposed to construct underpasses at Mureer Chowk and Liaquat Bagh Chowk to address the problems of growing traffic congestion on Murree Road.

Last month, while taking notice of the traffic woes due to the intensifying problem of parking on the streets connected to the inner city, Rawalpindi Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chattha issued a plan which included the construction of three extra floors on the parking plaza at Fawara Chowk, the establishment of a new parking site and restoration of the free-parking facility in the basement of 38 high-rise plazas.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20^th, 2023.