Heavy traffic chokes Al Asif Square Chowrangi

Due to poor planning and traffic management, incessant gridlocks obstruct the movement of vehicles

KARACHI:

In the aftermath of the construction of the 136-kilometre-long Karachi to Hyderabad M-9 motorway in 2020, Al Asif Square Chowrangi was expanded to accommodate the increasing flow of two-way traffic. However, due to the merger of Shahrah-e-Pakistan and Motorway M-9 alongside poor road maintenance and traffic control, the road congestion between Lyari Expressway, Al Asif Square Chowrangi and the Sabzi Mandi has only worsened with time.

Mohammad Amir, a commuter, while conveying his frustration at the mayhem afflicting the busy intersection revealed that the entire belt from Al Asif Square to Karachi Toll Plaza had been commercialized, with carts, intercity bus stops, parking bumpers for trucks and a large number of restaurants occupying both sides.

"There is a Sabzi Mandi and a slum alongside the M-9 motorway. Furthermore, on both sides there are residential areas including Scheme 33, Gulshan-e-Maymar, Ahsan Abad and other societies, while after the Toll Plaza lies Bahria Town and DHA City. Due to all these reasons, the volume of local traffic alone is very high, in addition to the movement of vehicles travelling to and fro the city. The worst traffic jams occur here during peak hours," said Amir, who went on to add that the dusty service roads on either side were broken while the lack of barriers on the perimeter of the road only aggravated the congestion by allowing the entry of pedestrians.

According to Obaid Imrani, General Manager of the National Highway Authority (NHA), a pedestrian bridge and fences had been constructed at the M-9, but people still tried crossing the road. "A weigh station is set up to weigh the heavy traffic before the toll plaza, where 200 to 300 heavy vehicles line up every one to two hours at night, giving rise to a long traffic jam," said Imrani, who opined that a signal could help settle the chaos.

Differing with Imrani, Prof. Dr. Mir Shabbar Ali, Dean of Civil Engineering and Architecture at the Sir Syed University, was of the opinion that the incessant gridlock at Al Asif Square Chowrangi was largely due to poor planning and installing signals alone could not resolve the issue. "From Sohrab Goth, the road turns into a highway therefore, local traffic should not be allowed. However, local traffic uses this route to access different residential areas, creating chaos on the M-9 motorway," explained Dr Ali.

Dr Ali further suggested that the condition of the surrounding service roads should be improved so that the M-9 could be reserved for heavy intercity traffic. "The entry of local traffic should be closed at Al Asif Square Chowrangi and vehicles should be redirected through a U-turn at the service road. Such steps should be taken to prevent intra-city traffic and pedestrians from entering the motorway," urged Dr Ali, who felt that constructing a flyover at Al Asif Square Chowrangi was a plausible long-term solution.

"At present the flyover project at Al Asif Square Chowrangi is not under consideration, but if the Sindh government wants to construct a flyover here, the NHA will not have any objection. If the court cases are resolved and the land is given to the NHA, the NHA will construct the service road" commented Imrani.

"There are only two weighing plates at the weigh station. If the number of measurement plates is increased to six, the traffic problem can be resolved since vehicles would no longer queue up," said a spokesperson for the Motorway Police, who revealed that 1,500 to 1,800 heavy vehicles passed through the roundabout daily. Yaseen Abro, Section Officer at the Traffic Police assured that they tried maintaining the flow of traffic from 7am to 11pm at Al Asif Square Chowrangi yet traffic jams were quite common.

"Al Asif Square Chowrangi should be completely closed, and the service roads should be reconstructed, with no entry into M-9. The entry should be from a U-tern under Jamali Bridge and PSO Petrol Pump," asserted Senior Director Traffic Engineering Bureau, Yousaf Iqbal.