Traffic nightmare grips busy University Road

Red Line project is said to be the reason behind vehicular snarl-up

KARACHI:

The ceaseless signature cadence of the metropolitan city's urban heartbeat abruptly ceased as University Road found itself ensnared in a labyrinth of vehicular snarl-up. What should have been a fleet-footed traverse for citizens transformed into an endless odyssey, an ordeal likely to prolong its torment in the days to come.

The display of this urban entanglement is painted against the backdrop of the Red Line Project. Yet, unbeknownst to its architects, this project inadvertently severed the vital lifeline of water conduits, setting off a domino effect of transportation mess.

The traffic flow was rerouted onto service lanes - an expedient pivot that swiftly metamorphosed into a cacophonous symphony of vehicular pandemonium. This disarray reverberated with particular ferocity within the inner lanes, amplifying the travail for motorists and pedestrians alike.

University Road, a once-thriving thoroughfare, now stands as a crucible of trials for the citizens. The snarl of traffic that now shackles it has become an unwelcome routine. Rubbing salt into this wound, the ongoing Red Line construction metamorphosed into an entirely different debacle as water pipelines burst at Hassan Square, transforming the landscape into an aquatic battleground.

Confronted by the looming specter of accidents, the traffic police made the decision to temporarily asphyxiate the primary conduit. The sprawling six-lane thoroughfare, now constricted to a meager pair of lanes, funnelled the relentless tide of vehicles onto service roads - a transition that swiftly transmuted into a bottlenecked artery, struggling to accommodate the surge.

This compression rippled unabated, spanning the chasm from Jail Chowrangi to Hassan Square, and extending its sinister fingers to Urdu Science College, turning what was once a swift journey into an agonising endurance test of patience and perseverance.

Some traffic police personnel sought to create semblances of order amidst the expanding chaos, yet their effort barely scratched the surface of the crisis. This disarray stands as a testament to the repercussions that often arise when infrastructural aspirations collide with the intricate tapestry of urban life.

The aftershocks of the Red Line's evolution extend beyond traffic nightmares, as the very fabric of University Road bears the indelible scars of this transformative upheaval. The road's metamorphosis, characterised by yawning excavations, carries a staggering cost of Rs880 million.

University Road now wears the yoke of radical transformation. A conduit that once choreographed the symphony of urban mobility now resonates with the discordant strains of congestion and exasperation.

While speaking to The Express Tribune, a police official stationed at Hassan Square said: "The rupture of water pipelines amidst the Red Line's transformation led to a deluge upon the road." He added that "in an attempt to prevent potential accidents, the decision to reroute traffic was enacted, although with unintended consequences."

 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 9^th, 2023.