ISLAMABAD, Jan 20: A large number of motorists and commuters, who travel to Islamabad daily, have demanded better road network from the city authorities.

While the drive from Islamabad Highway/ Expressway from Zero Point to Koral is fine, the nightmare begins after that.

Important to note that Islamabad Highway was revamped into Islamabad Expressway — road lanes were increased — but the part from Koral to T-Chowk was left in the same condition.

In the past, one portion from T-Chowk to Koral Chowk was reconstructed but a large portion was left in a dilapidated condition.

What makes the driving experience worse is that the road only has two lanes and there is always heavy traffic on it.

Every now and then, trucks in a bid to overtake the other, wobble on the wrong side of the lane, which puts the life of other commuters at risk.

It also ends up creating panic among the drivers who try to overtake the trucks, thus increasing the chances of accidents; in fact, a number of accidents have happened this way.

“It is so frustrating when both lanes are occupied by trucks, openly violating traffic rules,” said Yasir Azim, resident of an adjoining housing society.

There are about 15 different housing societies located on the portion of the highway and most of the people living in the area commute daily to Islamabad.

Public transport on G.T. Road also uses the same road which results in bumper to bumper traffic at peak hours.

“Ratio of traffic violations is quite high on the road primarily because of public transporters,” said a traffic police official, Nazir Ahmad.

Moreover, trucks often break down in the middle of the road causing severe hindrances to commuters.

It is due to these reasons that it takes about half an hour to cover a distance of about 12km from Koral Chowk to Kak Pul, while the same distance from Zero Point to Koral Chowk is covered in 15 minutes.

The dilapidated condition of the road is also a matter of concern but government has shown indifference towards it, according to one commuter regularly plying the route.

In winter, the road is engulfed with dense fog. Some commuters recommend streetlights which would improve visibility conditions.

“Yes, lack of streetlights on the road is a big issue. I work in the evening at a call centre and normally return home at about 12am. A few days back, when fog swamped the twin cities and the visibility level was low, I almost drove onto the greenbelt,” said Asif Hussain, a resident of Korang Town.

However, a CDA official, when contacted, said: “There is no immediate plan of widening or repairing the road, however, discussions in this regard were in progress and the project could be initiated following an approval.” —APP