ISLAMABAD:
As two mega interchanges worth Rs 8 billion are being constructed in the federal capital, the district administration has decided to construct an additional underpass at the Murree Road-Srinagar Highway junction to ease traffic flow .
Once completed, this underpass will ensure signal-free traffic from Murree and Kashmir to Srinagar Expressway. On the other hand, the 60-day deadline for the completion of the under-construction Serena Interchange passed on January 5, but work on the project is still underway.
However, the underpass connecting Khayaban-e-Suharwardi to Aabpara has been completed and is expected to be opened for traffic on January 11. The second ongoing project, the F-8 interchange, was expected to be completed in three months by February 5, with one of its underpasses already operational in a record 42 days.
A senior official of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) told The Express PK Press Club that the foundation stone of the two under-construction mega-interchanges, costing Rs 8 billion, was laid by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on November 5. Due to the delay in providing construction plans, work began on November 12 and the Serena Interchange project, initially scheduled to be completed by January 5, is still in its final phase, he said. -he added.
The initial opening of one of its underpasses, built on the Khayaban-e-Suharwardi side, was decided on January 8, but Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi asked the CDA chairman to open the slipways access to traffic as well as the underpasses built and No inauguration ceremony will take place, but the entire construction work of the interchange will be inaugurated immediately by the Prime Minister, added the official.
According to the CDA official, two under-construction underpasses on Islamabad Club side will also be completed by January 20, while all efforts are being made to complete the project 100% by the last week of this month.
On the other hand, CDA Chairman Muhammad Ali Randhawa along with engineering and other senior officers visited Murree Road on Thursday. On this occasion, in view of the traffic problems, the proposal to construct an underpass at the Srinagar Highway junction on Murree Road was considered.
Randhawa said the construction of the underpass would make it easier for citizens coming from Murree and Kashmir to Islamabad, directing that the underpass at the Srinagar Highway junction on Murree Road be connected to the Serena Interchange project.
The President was informed during the briefing that soil testing work has started for the construction of the underpass at the Srinagar Highway junction on Murree Road. It was further informed that the design and planning works including feasibility have also been initiated for the construction of the underpass at the Srinagar Highway junction on Murree Road.
The CDA chief said the construction of the underpass would permanently resolve the long-standing traffic problems in Islamabad, directing that the design of the underpass at the Srinagar Highway junction on Murree Road should be submitted soon.
After the construction of the underpass, all traffic coming from Murree towards the Srinagar Expressway will become signal-free, he added.
