RAWALPINDI: The Punjab Highway Department has asked Nespak to review the design of three underpasses on Peshawar Road within two days, so it would start work on its construction in the first week of April.

Talking to Dawn, Highway Department Superintending Engineer Ashfaq Sulehri said work on the project worth Rs8 billion was expected to start in the first week of April and complete before the monsoon season.

He said the design of the underpasses had been approved by the Planning and Development Department, but Nespak had been asked to review it for smooth flow of traffic between Saddar and Qasim Market.

He said on the basis of experience gained in Lahore, the highway department wanted to widen the link roads along the underpasses to avoid any bottleneck for traffic.

Work on Rs8 billion project is set to start in first week of April, says official

“As the initial work on shifting of services and corridor for utility service started, Iesco, SNGPL and PTCL, as well as Rawalpindi Cantonment Board had been asked to complete the task to shift the services as soon as possible,” he said.

He said that the electricity pylons from Racecourse Park to Chairing Cross had already been shifted and work on lampposts would be completed soon. He said that water supply lines would also be relocated soon.

“Before the start of work formally, alternative roads have been finalised and the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) has been asked by Commissioner Abdul Aamer Khattak to complete patchworks so motorists would not face problems,” he said.

He added that the traffic on Peshawar Road would not be stopped during the construction work as one lane on each side of the road would remain open, adding it would not be possible to completely close the busiest section of the road.

Mr Sulehri said that land acquisition was not fully completed yet as there was a dire need to acquire more land because there is a plan to construct service lanes on both sides of Peshawar Road from Radio Pakistan to Rafay Mall.

“Traffic police offices’ 15 feet land will be acquired for the expansion of the road,” he added.

It may be mentioned that three underpasses are being constructed simultaneously to manage more than 250,000 vehicles daily.

On the other hand, the district administration imposed section 4 to acquire more than 40 kanals and prices for commercial and residential land have been fixed as per the market rates. The district price assessment committee will acquire the land as well as the land of the traffic police.

A senior official of the district administration told Dawn that the assistant commissioner city had informed the committee that most of the land belonged to Military Lands and only three deeds were registered in sub-registrar offices and it fixed the price of land per marla.

He said that notices had been served on two A class, seven B class, one B-2 class land and the traffic police offices and Qasim Market site. He said that some commercial land from Radio Pakistan bus stop to Lane 4 will also be acquired. He said that the land acquisition will be completed within two to three weeks.

Published in Dawn, March 29th, 2026