RAWALPINDI: The widening and reconstruction of Soan Bridge is continuing since 2017 with thousands of commuters daily using it and eagerly waiting for the day when the project will be completed.

When one visits the site, clouds of dust, vehicles rattling, wobbling and sometimes broken down due to ditches along with scattered construction material could be seen. Sometimes commuters sneeze due to the clouds of dust which have never been observed in any other construction site.

It took about 35 minutes to cover the stretch of about 20km starting from Kutchery Chowk to T-Chowk at Rawat provided the road was clear and there being no traffic mess. However, since the widening of the bridges started about seven years ago, the road has never been found in a perfect condition and without traffic mess.

The quality of road construction has been poor at the site. Additionally, there is no drainage system on the road and after a small spell of rain water accumulates at different points even on the bridge making long queues of vehicles. As a result, commuters, including office-goers and schoolchildren, remain stuck at the site for hours.

Initially, project was awarded to private contractor but later handed over to FWO

The road on which the bridge is located is one of the busiest and is used by thousands of people, including hundreds of goods transporters who come to the city from other parts of the province via the G.T. Road.

Due to the left-over construction material scattered on the bridge and its adjoining areas, digging and ill-planned re-carpeting, hundreds of commuters, including motorists and pedestrians, have been facing problems for many years. But neither the contractor nor those who had awarded the contract care about the ordeal through which thousands of commuters and residents of the surrounding areas have been passing.

Because of the poor quality work, a section of the under-construction bridge over Soan River collapsed in July last year. Fortunately, no vehicles were passing over the bridge when its side pillars caved in due to the ground erosion.

A private company was initially awarded the contract for re-modeling of the bridge by the National Highway Authority (NHA), but later the contract was terminated in April 2022 due to multiple reasons and then it was awarded to the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO).

According to a senior NHA official, former army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had taken notice of the delay in the construction of the bridge and poor workmanship, but to no avail.

Many road traffic accidents have happened due to erection of U-turns on the curve road near the under-construction bridge. Side walls have collapsed during rain but the situation has not changed.

Besides the citizens, the users of the under-construction bridge also include many top government officials and political representatives. Unfortunately, neither the commissioner nor the deputy commissioner has ever taken notice of the suffering of the commuters. It seems as if they have also distanced themselves from the project like officials of other government departments.

An office-goer said he had travelled abroad many times and watched the pace and quality of construction work in different countries, but had never witnessed such egregious work quality or neglect on part of the relevant authorities here.

More surprising is to see that there are no safety precautions, no emergency light blaring at the construction site where thousands of people have been traveling risking their lives.

He added, “I have lived in DHA for the last 10 years, but have never seen a single light on the under-construction bridge while crossing it at night despite streetlight poles installed there.”

Residents of the housing societies, including DHA, demanded that the government should take notice of the delay in the project and order its completion without further delay to end hardship of the commuters.

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2024