ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has decided to repair old Murree Road beneath the flyover portion of the Bhara Kau bypass to ensure smooth traffic movement during Eid days.
“I have directed the engineering wing to immediately repair uneven and dilapidated portion of the almost one-kilometre-long road beneath the flyover portion of the bypass to ensure smooth flow of traffic on Eid days,” said CDA Chairman Noorul Amin Mengal.
The chairman told Dawn that the transom work has been completed, therefore he has asked for the removal of shuttering and other materials to ensure smooth traffic flow on the route.
He added that the portion of the road from Malpur to Jhugi Stop is also completed and the civic body would decide today in a meeting whether or not to open the bypass road on Eid.
Chairman says project almost complete from Malpur to Jhugi stop
Asked about the flyover portion, he said that within the next two months, the project will be completed. “We will try to finalise the project and open it for traffic on Eidul Azha,” he said.
Meanwhile, officials of the engineering wing said that all 27 transoms have been poured. They said that all 144 girders have already been prepared and after Eid, their launching work will be started. “ Out of 144, 12 have already been launched,” said an official.
Bhara Kahu project
The 5.6 km-long road (including a 1km flyover) starts from Murree Road at Malpur and culminates on Murree Road near the Jugi bus stop adjacent to Punjab Cash and Carry in Bhara Kahu from where the flyover begins till the end of the bazaar towards Murree.
The project has a four-kilometre-road with a bridge and five underpasses besides one kilometre elevated flyover. The road from Malpur to Jhugi stop Murree Road, a point from where the elevated portion starts, is almost completed, as the final asphaltic concrete wearing course is likely to be completed in one week.
In February, after two back-to-back incidents, the pace of the project decreased. The CDA officials said that the project was being executed with “utmost care” to avoid further mishaps.
Earlier, the federal government, CDA and the contractor - National Logistics Cell (NLC) – had been making all-out efforts to complete the project before March 23. However, on-site progress of the project had shown that the project would be completed by July.
The project was started on October 1 and as per its PC-I was supposed to be completed within four months. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had directed the CDA to make all-out efforts to get the project completed within three months instead of the four months mentioned in PC-I. Subsequently, the CDA and NLC made hectic efforts and work on the project continued round the clock.
However, in February the project saw two mishaps – the collapse of a transom and the collapse of five girders apparently due to flaws in their launching. Since then, the pace of work on the project has slowed down. Meanwhile, the prime minister also constituted a commission to probe the two incidents.
Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2023
