‘Mehran underpass work will not hamper traffic’

Project director says work will be completed in four months.

KARACHI: With the construction of Nusrat Bhutto underpass at Mehran Hotel underway, authorities are worried that traffic along Sharae Faisal will be clogged as long as construction lasts.

Khalid Masroor, a long-time KMC project director who has 19 flyovers under his belt, said that the traffic around Hotel Metropole is already 'nightmarish'. "The traffic police were afraid the construction of the underpass will further worsen the traffic on this circular route but we have properly addressed their concerns," he said.

He pulled out large maps of the underpass design and explained how they have actually reduced the traffic flow at Hotel Metropole by providing diversions. Dr Daudpota Road from Saddar to Cantt Station is already blocked and a diversion has been created through the back of Avari Towers and Jinnah hospital, he pointed out.

"On Monday when the city witnesses major traffic jams, there wasn't any," he said. "The traffic signal at Mehran Hotel has been removed and traffic has been running smoothly." Meanwhile, the roads across Avari Towers and Jinnah hospital have already been constructed in view of the diversions, he added.

Furthermore, traffic will be diverted in a curve to the side in front of Chundrigar House and Rimpa Twin Star where there was a greenbelt, Masroor explained. "The greenbelt has been removed from above the ground and underground shifting is underway, which will not take more than a month," he said. "The engineers are also working on a 15x12 metre 'square' or patch in the middle of the intersection." This intersection is the spot where the underpass is being built.

According to Masroor, interlocking columns or piles of alternatively reinforced concrete will be driven into the ground to form the underpass's walls and then they will place slabs on it. "There will be 100 piles on both sides of the road and, once the slabs are placed on these piles, traffic will be able to run on the slabs," he explained. "Then we will excavate from inside."

Drainage system

While pumping water out of underpasses becomes a hassle during monsoon every year, it won't be the case with this underpass, according to Masroor, who boasted that this underpass has one of the most effective drainage systems. "There will be a flow towards a catchment below the base level of the underpass, from where it will all be pumped out," he said.

Completion time

The project, which has been in the offing since the time of former mayor Mustafa Kamal, may finally see the light of day. Masroor said that he has been ordered from all the stakeholders to complete the project within four months.

"Initially, the project was supposed to be a flyover," said Niaz Ahmed Soomro, the director-general of KMC technical services. However, he said, the permission was not granted to construct a flyover as army buildings and infrastructures, such as the defence communication fibre optic network, were located in the area. "That was why the project was converted into an underpass two years ago," he explained.

The total cost of the project has been estimated at Rs510.2 million. According to Soomro, the Sindh government has released Rs30 million out of the total cost and this amount has to be utilised by June. "The remaining amount will be released later as per the promise of the Sindh government."

Now the builders need to shift the utility lines, which include a 48-inch water and a 33-inch sewerage line. But, according to project director Masroor, this will not be much of a problem. "The sewerage lines will be diverted to Sarwar Shaheed Road," he said. "However, the water lines will remain there and are being reinforced in a box in order to prevent seepage and leakage." He added that the underpass will be constructed below it.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 22^nd, 2015.