ISLAMABAD: To cope with the ongoing as well as further traffic burden on Khayaban-i-Iqbal after completion of the portion of Margalla Road, the civic agency has decided to construct two interchanges on it.

The Capital Development Authority (CDA)’s engineering wing will build the two interchanges at E-11 Chowk and Shaheen Chowk as the CDA board is going to take up the approval of the consultant firm for these interchanges in its meeting to be held on Thursday.

Khayaban-i-Iqbal, which is falsely known as Margalla Road, is one of the busiest roads in Islamabad. Due to educational institutions and government offices it faces traffic congestion on a daily basis near Shaheen Chowk.

In E-11, which has become a new business hub particularly after the construction of wedding marquees and apartment buildings, the road also faces huge traffic burden.

CDA board set to approve hiring of consultant to build interchanges at E-11 Chowk, Shaheen Chowk

CDA officials said when a portion of the (original) Margalla Road from G.T. Road to Sangjani would be completed this road would be facing more traffic.

Therefore, construction of the interchanges is imperative to handle the rush to some extent.

The officials said work on Margalla Road was in progress and would hopefully be completed in the current fiscal year and would be linked with Khyaban-i-Iqbal from Sangjani.

They said PC-I of both the projects had already been approved by CDA’s Development Working Party in June and after hiring of the consultant the civic agency would call tenders for starting work on the interchanges.

Prime Minister Imran Khan in April this year performed the groundbreaking of the Margalla Avenue project. The prime minister had said with the construction of the road traffic burden on Murree Road near Bhara Kahu would reduce as it would serve as a bypass at Bhara Kahu.

The construction work was awarded to the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO). The CDA divided the project into three phases.

In the first phase, a portion of the road will be constructed from G.T. Road to Sangjani and in the second the Bhara Kahu bypass would be built and in future the third phase from Sangjani to Constitution Avenue will be taken up.

Currently, work is in progress in the first portion.

However, construction is yet to be started in the second phase – the Bhara Kahu bypass – as currently detailed engineering and survey is being conducted on the project.

This phase will provide a big relief to the people of the capital city, Bhara Kahu, Murree, Abbottabad and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Every year in the summer season, millions of tourists face massive traffic congestion at Bhara Kahu.

“Focusing on the road from G.T. Road to Sangjani is good but we will appeal to the CDA to also look into the second phase to ensure its early start as this phase is linked to millions of people who suffer traffic jams at Bhara Kahu,” said Faisal Khan, a resident of Bhara Kahu.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2021