Peshawar Road underpasses yet to start as monsoon season draws closer

RAWALPINDI: Formal construction on three planned underpasses along Peshawar Road has not yet begun even as the monsoon season is about a month away, officials said, adding that preparatory work is under way and full construction is expected to start within one to two weeks.

The schemes at Race Course Park, Army Graveyard and Chairing Cross are part of a wider plan to create a signal-free corridor from Islamabad Expressway to Motorway Chowk on Peshawar Road. The corridor will stretch 25 kilometres and is intended to cut travel time between the two points to 15 to 20 minutes.

The broader corridor plan has already seen work completed at two major intersections. The General Post Office Chowk project was finished last year, while the remodelling of Kutchery Chowk was completed in May. Officials said the three remaining underpasses on Peshawar Road are expected to be completed in the next fiscal year.

Preparatory work under way

A senior district administration official said work had already started on drains and alternative road arrangements from Qasim Market and Race Course Park. He said the executing agency wanted to complete drainage works, service roads and route clearance before excavation begins so that monsoon rains do not disrupt the project.

Formal work on the underpasses is likely to begin within a week or two and, once started, could be completed within two months. He also said traffic police had been asked to prepare a traffic management plan, while the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board would carry out patchwork on alternative routes, including Transit Camp Road, Bakery Chowk and the road from Army Public School to Chairing Cross.

The official further said utility-related work had been completed on the corridor from Race Course to Qadir Motors stop, including the laying of Sui gas pipelines as well as telephone and electricity lines.

Concerns over monsoon timing

Construction experts said digging work during the monsoon could create difficulties for the contractor. They said road construction is generally avoided during the rainy season because water collects in excavated areas and hampers progress. They added that rainfall could force some work to be repeated, making the process more time-consuming, and said excavators also cannot be used effectively in wet conditions.

Qamar Saqib, executive engineer of the Punjab Highway Department, said preparatory work for the underpass projects had been completed. He said utility shifting on Peshawar Road had already been carried out in the first phase and construction would begin as soon as possible. He also said the underpasses were necessary for establishing a signal-free corridor up to the motorway.