RAWALPINDI: As 92 per cent of construction work on the Rs19 billion Kutchery Chowk remodelling project has been completed, the Punjab Communication and Works Department will hand over the road to the district administration in the last week of May.

Punjab Highway Department Executive Engineer Qamar Ali Saqib told Dawn that the roads of the flyovers and underpasses at Kutchery Chowk had been completed and were likely to open for traffic by May 31.

“We are moving forward to meet the deadline, and the project will be completed on time. The contractor, Frontier Works Organisation (FWO), is doing its best to make the project an example by ensuring the quality of construction and speed of work,” he said.

He said work on a pedestrian bridge at Kutchery Chowk was also in its final stages to facilitate pedestrians. A drainage system was also being developed in the area.

Rs19bn remodelling scheme 92pc complete, Peshawar Road underpasses to follow

Apart from this, he said, the Parks and Horticulture Agency had almost completed the green belts and planted trees along the roads. Lampposts had been installed and cleaning work had started along the flyovers and underpasses.

He said Punjab Minister for Communication and Works Malik Sahaib Ahmed Bherth and the secretary sought weekly reports on the speed and quality of work and had directed that the project be completed on time.

“Though it was an 18-month project, FWO made it an example by completing it within six months, working day and night so people would not suffer due to road closures,” he said.

He said the work started in the last week of November and would be completed by May 31. For quality assurance, FWO and the Punjab Communication and Works Department formed teams to check materials at all stages.

It may be mentioned that two flyovers and three underpasses are being constructed simultaneously to manage more than 250,000 vehicles daily. According to officials, a four-lane flyover has been constructed between The Mall and Rashid Minhas Road.

The underpass is 26.5 feet wide and provides access from the old Airport Road to Saddar. The total traffic count in this section is 197,000 vehicles per day. Moreover, the Annexy Chowk, or Jinnah Park, flyover and underpass are designed to manage 142,035 vehicles daily.

The flyover has been built between Mushtaq Baig Shaheed Road and the old Airport Road. There is also an underpass from Kutchery Chowk to Mushtaq Baig Shaheed Road. A single-barrel, two-lane underpass has been constructed to manage 146,252 vehicles daily from Iftikhar Janjua Road to Kutchery Chowk. It is 18 feet high and 26.25 feet wide.

Meanwhile, regarding three underpasses on Peshawar Road worth Rs8 billion, Mr Saqib said that as soon as Kutchery Chowk opens for traffic, work on the Peshawar Road underpasses will start in full swing.

“As side work has already started and FWO has almost completed the shifting of utility services into utility ducts along the main road, excavation of the underpasses will begin in June,” he said.

Three underpasses worth Rs8 billion will be constructed on Peshawar Road. A total of 250,736 vehicles use this section daily and the underpasses are expected to ensure smooth traffic flow through the area.

Published in Dawn, May 4th, 2026