Lyari Expressway marred by lack of upkeep

The general wisdom of the populace for infrastructure projects which cost billions of rupees to the public exchequer is that they will last for decades and make their life easier. However, the Lyari Expressway has proven otherwise. The 38-kilometre long road, built along the Lyari River, in Karachi, which became fully operational in 2018, is still facing critical issues to date despite an upwards of Rs 9 billion of public monies spent on its construction. For instance, the North and South bound tracks of the expressway still have unfinished service roads, and the railings and jersey barriers are in a dilapidated condition.

Muhammad Safdar, who lives nearby and is a regular user of the expressway, commenting on the state of the multi-lane road, said that despite being functional for some 6 years now the road does not even have proper lighting. “Those in charge of the expressway’s maintenance are only concerned with collecting toll tax and not actually spending the collected tax on its upkeep,” he remarked.Safdar’s opinion holds weight, as an on-ground survey conducted by The Express Tribune shows that some portions of the highway are in dire straits.

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To illustrate: iron railings on the North and South bound roads are missing entirely, the pedestrian bridges are littered with garbage, and some residents who live next to the expressway have actually encroached upon it. In this regard, an officer of the National Highway Authority (NHA), the department regarded as the custodian of the country’s highways, conceded to The Express Tribune, under the condition of anonymity, that the multi-billion rupee project was facing numerous challenges. “A paucity of funds has resulted in lack of maintenance, missing lighting, and unbuilt service roads,” the official revealed. Nevertheless, the expressway is not a stranger to such mismanagement.

The multi-lane road network was conceived in 2002 and was scheduled to be completed in 2009 but only became fully operational 9 years later in 2018. Moreover, its present-day problems with encroachments have also been there since its inception, as more than 30,000 residents, on both sides of the Lyari River, who were affected by its construction, initially refused to move from their lands and only caved in when both provincial and municipal authorities gave them no other option apart from relocation.

Given the Lyari Expressway’s seemingly never ending problems, The Express Tribune, also spoke with Farhan Akhtar, a Superintendent of the Motorway Police. “Our department is only responsible for regulating traffic on the expressway. Collection of toll tax and spending it on the expressway’s cleanliness, maintenance, and further construction is the NHA’s domain. There is nothing we can do about it,” clarified Akhtar. In light of Akhtar’s clarification, The Express Tribune contacted Munir Memon, the NHA’s Member for Sindh, to inquire about the lack of maintenance on the expressway but did not hear back from him.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 13^th, 2023.