ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi visited the Jinnah Avenue Interchange flyover and F-10 roundabout expansion projects on Thursday and said the latter would be opened to traffic by the second week of February.

Separately, he sought a date from the Capital Development Authority (CDA) for laying the foundation stone of Srinagar Highway and Murree Road underpasses.

The Jinnah Avenue Interchange project, which has two components — an underpass and a flyover — is supposed to be completed within 100 days by February 15. The underpass has already been completed while work on the flyover is in progress.

CDA Chairman Mohammad Ali Randhawa briefed the minister on the progress made on the projects. Secretary Interior Mohammad Khurram Agha, senior officials from Nespak and other relevant authorities were also present on the occasion.

During his visit, the minister instructed the authorities to expedite work on the Jinnah Avenue Interchange flyover, emphasising the importance of maintaining high standards.

He also directed the authorities to continue beautification work around the projects.

Mr Naqvi reviewed the ongoing construction activities at the F-10 roundabout U-turn project.

CDA is constructing U-turns on Jinnah Avenue and Nazimuddin Road to ensure smooth traffic flow after the completion of the flyover. The F-10 roundabout has been removed and the Jinnah Avenue and Nazimuddin roads have been merged with fish-belly U-turns.

Moreover, a press release said the interior minister inspected the progress made on both projects, noting that base slabs of the Jinnah Avenue Interchange flyover’s box girder had been completed.

He directed the authorities to complete the landscaping and horticulture work around the projects within the stipulated timeframe while ensuring that construction work meets the highest standards.

The multi-billion rupees Jinnah Avenue Interchange and Serena Interchange projects were started together in November. The Serena Chowk project was supposed to be completed by January 5, but it has faced delays.

However, the project has now been slated for inauguration on February 4.

The project has three underpasses and one of them has already been opened to traffic while the remaining two on Srinagar Highway will be inaugurated on February 4.

However, until an underpass is constructed on Murree Road linking the interchange with the Srinagar Highway, one of the underpasses would be useless as traffic coming from AJK and Murree cannot directly enter the Srinagar Highway.

Sources said that the interior minister while chairing a meeting of CDA on Wednesday night directed the civic agency to complete the design and estimate work for the Murree Road underpass project.

The sources said CDA was making efforts to get the design and estimates of the underpass completed. They said the foundation stone of the project would be laid during the inauguration of the Serena Interchange project.

Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2025