ISLAMABAD: The civic agency on Monday said the overhauling and widening of I.J. Principal Road will be completed in April next year, a statement said.

This was stated by CDA and National Logistic Cell officials during a briefing they were giving to the CDA Chairman Amer Ali Ahmed at meeting held at the site office.

The CDA officials said that so far 41pc work had been completed.

The chairman directed the CDA to clear routes along I.J. P. Road to divert traffic there aimed at easing traffic on I.J. P. Road. Besides, a control room has also been set up for helping motorists in case of emergency.

The meeting was told that work on the road was in progress and it is expected that it will be ready by April next year.

The statement said the CDA chief directed the contractor of the project to expedite work mainly from Pirwadahi Adda to Pirwadahi Mor as people have been suffering due to the ongoing work.

He directed the engineering wing to get this four kilometer stretch of the road completed by August.

Under the project worth Rs4.9 billion, , two flyover, two bridges and seven culverts will also be constructed besides overhauling of the road.

One flyover each on 9th Avenue and IJP Road and two bridges will be constructed at Kattarian and Pirwadhai.

The road is one of the major arteries of the capital city. Before the start of the project, the road had not been repaired for many years as a result of which potholes have developed all along the route.

It links Islamabad and Rawalpindi besides connecting G.T. Road and Islamabad Expressway.

A large number of heavy trucks also use the road as Islamabad’s wholesale fruit and vegetable market is also located along the road.

Similarly, because of the general bus stands at Pirwadahi, thousands of passenger buses, coaches and other vehicles use the road.

The road starts at Faizabad and ends at Peshawar Road.

The growing traffic volume and axle load of slow moving loaded trucks resulted in pavement distress.

People living in I-9, 1-10 and I-11 sectors and those settled on the left side of the road such as Khayaban, Bangash Colony, Pirwadhai, Choor Chowk and British Homes use the road daily and face traffic congestion on daily basis due to ongoing construction work.

An engineer of CDA said that according to PC-I, the project is supposed to be completed in April next year, adding that CDA is making all out effort to get it completed before the deadline and so far 41pc work has already been done.

Published in Dawn,May 10th, 2022