LAHORE: The Rs3.406 billion Saggian Road rehabilitation and improvement project will be completed by October this year.

The project was launched in February.

An official of the Lahore Development Authority — the project executing agency — said the project would be completed in October subject to the uninterrupted provision of the funds, support and ownership from the authorities.

The project consists of two packages — one is from Ravi Bridge to Lahore-Sheikhupura Road and the other from Phhol Mandi Chowk to Faizpur interchange (M-2).

Package one is of 150-foot wide and 3.90 km long three-lane dual carriageway having a median measuring 1.2 metres, two-metre wide drain-cum-walkways (both sides), 1.8 metres wide paved shoulder (both sides) and the provision of sewerage system as proposed by the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) and Public Health Engineering Department.

The second package (Phool Mandi Chowk to Faizpur Interchange (M-2) will be 110 feet wide and 4.40km long two-lane dual carriageway having 1.2-metre wide centre median, two-metre wide drain-cum-walkway (both sides), three-foot wide paved shoulder (both sides) and a sewerage system. The estimated cost of package-1 and 2 is over Rs1.5457 billion and Rs1.5273 billion.

The official said the project will ease traffic flow, and remove bottlenecks, ending carbon emissions and environmental pollution and reducing the travel time to a minimum level at both packages.

The work related to the asphalt base course has been completed by around 50 percent. Likewise, works related to drainages, such as excavation, lean concrete, base slab, wall and top slab have been completed. However, the pace of work on other works such as sewerage and ancillary jobs, bridge (replacement of joints), and shifting of utility services, poles, and street lights has yet to pick momentum.

About the construction of the Lahore bridge (Qainchi intersection, Ferozpur Road) expansion project, he said it is likely to be completed by September as around 75 per cent of work has been completed. This project lingered on owing to delay in issuance of NOC from Pakistan Railways, shifting of utility services and other technical issues.

“The Lahore bridge expansion (addition of two-lane along with the existing flyover towards Gajjumata side) is a part of the Rs1.711 billion Gulab Devi underpass project. The underpass was opened to traffic a couple of months ago while work on the bridge expansion couldn’t pick momentum due to a delay in an NOC from the Pakistan Railways that was supposed to allow the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) to carry out piling, girder launching while crossing over the railway lines at the intersection,” the official explained.

He said the need for the Lahore bridge emerged after the LDA in a survey that the traffic heading towards Gajjumata and Kasur from Kalma Chowk was stuck at the existing Lahore bridge due to the low width of the road (two lanes).

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2022