RAWALPINDI, Nov 17: Rawal Road would shortly undergo re- designing to reduce the number of accidents that have risen sharply in the recent past. The re-designing work will commence once the Committee Chowk underpass becomes fully functional. The project is estimated to cost up to Rs2 million.

The road, constructed by the Rawalpindi Development Authority in 2002 to reduce traffic pressure on Murree Road, on average sees about dozen accidents every week - some very fatal - mainly due to its sharp curves.

The most common victims are motorcyclists and those driving small cars, who find it difficult to negotiate these turns. The vehicles either somersault, ram into the side walls or run over the medians into the opposite lanes causing fatal accidents.

The district administration believes that it is more due to speeding than a fault in the design of the road. District Nazim Raja Tariq Kiani, commenting on the situation, said the speed limit on Rawal Road was 50 km/h, which was quite often overlooked resulting in accidents. "It is absolutely safe to drive vehicles on this road within the speed limit of 50km/h," he added.

Since January this year there have been 133 fatal and 248 non-fatal accidents in Rawalpindi, a great number of which have taken place on this road. The administration may not be able to get rid of the sharp curves because of difficulties in acquiring land for this purpose. Most of the property on the roadside belongs to the Civil Aviation Authority, while the rest is privately-owned.

The administration, therefore, plans to alter the super- elevation of the road at these curves thus making it easier for the vehicles to negotiate the killer turns. The nazim, however, said his government was concerned about this situation and wished to rectify it at the earliest.

This is not the first time that the administration is doing something to improve traffic safety on the road, he said, adding that previously cat's eyes had been installed followed by putting up of speed limit signs. But none of these worked, rather the situation went from bad to worse.

The nazim was hopeful of doing the job without spending the public money. He said he was seeking help from the private sector and serious negotiations were underway with a couple of groups in this regard.