• CDA claims work to be completed by May; situation on ground says otherwise
• Rawal Road Interchange’s roundabout develops fault

ISLAMABAD: The Park Road expansion project is likely to miss its extended deadline as well due to its sluggish pace, creating problems for commuters and residents of the area.

The project was supposed to be finished in December but due to delays, the deadline was extended till May this year. However, the project’s progress showed that it might not be completed even in May.

A CDA official claimed that the project would be finished within the timeframe, but a recent visit to the site showed otherwise. The work on the right side of the road leading towards Tramri has shown significant progress but the left side of the artery still needs a lot of work.

Due to the construction, commuters face traffic problems daily.

“Every day, I have to face traffic congestion, what type of work is this which is not going to end despite the passage of a year? This is sheer negligence of the CDA,” said Ismail Khan, a resident of Tramri. He asked the CDA to get this project completed as soon as possible.

The CDA had awarded Rs1.9 billion contract for the expansion of the said road to the National Logistics Cell under clause 42(f) of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules, which allows bidding among government agencies only.

It may be noted that Park Road was a relatively quiet road since only residents of some villages/towns, such as Lakhwal, Banigala, Rawal Town, Shahzad Town, Taramri, and Chatta Bakhtawar were dependent on this road. But the growth of the adjoining areas has turned this into one of the busiest roads in the city.

Before the start of the work, the 7.4 km-long road had two lanes. The CDA planned to add an extra lane as well as overhaul the existing lanes to ease the traffic flow.

When contacted, an officer of CDA said that the work is in progress at full pace. He linked the delay in the Park Road project to the shifting of the utility services. One side has been 80pc completed while on the other side, the Iesco and the SNGPL were busy clearing the area. They removed the services from Taramri to Chatta Bakhtawar, with a commitment to remove these lines till Banigala next week.

“Now, our second side of the road is also being cleared and we will try our best to get the project completed by May this year,” he said.

Encroachment in the right of way

Meanwhile, sources said that on Sunday, after taking notice of alleged encroachment in the right of way near the spillway on Park Road, the teams of the enforcement directorate visited the site to get the construction of a link road stopped.

An official of the enforcement wing said the small dam organisation constructed a katcha road (link road) and they were asked to stop the construction within a day.

“...the road was set up to transport construction material to build on their own land. They assured us that they would close down this path tomorrow,” said the officer of the enforcement wing.

Recently, another issue related to said road surfaced when it transpired that the wall of King Hamad Nursing University and a slight portion of their building also fell in the right of way of Park Road.

This issue is still unresolved as the health ministry, which is executing the university project, cannot be blamed. The CDA had allotted 237 kanal in 2019 for the said university and also approved the building plan. “We are making to resolve this issue amicably,” said a CDA officer.

Rawal Dam interchange

Meanwhile, the Rawal Dam interchange’s roundabout, which was inaugurated in August 2022 by then PM Shehbaz Sharif, developed some technical faults. A portion of the roundabout has developed settlement, or pavement settling, while rainwater routinely accumulates in one of its portions.

Asked about the issue of the Rawal Dam interchange, the CDA officer said that rectification work was being done and only asphalt work was pending. “The rectification work is near completion and hopefully this week asphalt work will also be completed,” he said.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2024