The affected part of the Soan Bridge was restored and reopened for traffic on Monday, exactly seven weeks after an under-construction part of the bridge collapsed following rainfall and flooding in Rawalpindi.
A section, including a pillar and girders, of the bridge over the Soan River near the Lahore High Court collapsed on June 26, disrupting traffic on the artery linking Rawat with Kutchery Chowk. However, no casualties or injuries were reported.
The Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) was executing the Rs8 billion road improvement project to expand the bridge by 20 feet on both sides to ease the traffic flow when the incident occurred.
Since the collapse, a section of the bridge had stayed closed for traffic. Only light transport was allowed on the Rawalpindi to Rawat route, plying either way. Heavy traffic and goods transport were diverted to alternative routes of T Chowk during this time.
It led to multiple gridlocks in surrounding areas, with residents complaining about poor traffic management. A professional working at Kutchery Chowk told The Express Tribune that the congestion near Soan Bridge and surrounding areas meant his travel time had increased by half an hour either way.
In the meantime, the traffic on GT Road was severely disrupted. In all of this, the authorities in Rawalpindi, including the deputy commissioner, had promised that the bridge would be opened within a few days.
However, the delays continued and it recently led to a flare up between the traffic and police departments. The regional police officer and city police officer (CPO) were struck in an hour-long traffic jam over a week ago, after which the CPO issued orders for the suspension of dozens of traffic sergeants who he said were missing from their post.
The FWO and National Highway Authority (NHA) transported a Bailey bridge from Gilgit as a stop-gap solution but that was shelved after it was decided to repair the damaged portion by building pillars and filling the crater. The authorities had stated at the time that the process would likely take at least another six weeks.
Mohammad Asghar, who is a resident of DHA and visits Saddar daily for work, said that the opening of the bridge has brought his travel down back drastically. “Earlier, when the bridge was closed, I would worry about getting into an accident as one track was used for two-way traffic,” he said.
He cited the recent accident in which a dumper carrying cement trucks lost control and crashed into multiple vehicles on the bridge a few weeks ago. At least one person died and four others were injured. A vehicle also fell down the bridge due to impact.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 15th, 2023.
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