ISLAMABAD: Every day, hundreds of people have to face traffic congestion on their way to school or work because of ongoing construction work on Park Road, which continues at a snail’s pace despite jumping the deadline.

“This work has been going on for the past several months. It should be completed on a priority basis to provide relief to citizens,” said Awais Ali, a resident of Chatta Bakhthawar – a locality located along the Park Road.

He requested the authorities concerned to ensure the speedy completion of this project. Another local Yasir Khan said that Park Road is a busy road. “Besides providing access to areas along the road, it is also a route to several housing societies,” he added. Yasir Khan said during rush hours, the area faces massive traffic jams due to ongoing work.

According to the resident, a number of marriage halls and marquees were located along the road and due to congestion, their business was also being impacted.

Official says utility lines along alignment causing delay; another says work to be completed within few months

The Capital Development Authority awarded a Rs1.9 billion contract for the expansion of Park Road to the National Logistics Cell under clause 42(f) of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules, which allows bidding among government agencies only.

The work on the project was started in April 2023 and it was supposed to be completed within six months as per its PC-1. According to the CDA, the rehabilitation and widening of Park Road from Rawal Chowk to Tramari Chowk is being carried out under this project.

They said the 7.4km-long road had been facing traffic congestion; over the past two decades, residential areas and educational institutions along the road had mushroomed. Several old residential areas, such as Lakhwal, Banigala, Rawal Town, Shahzad Town, Tramri, and Chatta Bakhtawar are fully reliant on this road as well as the new enclaves set up by the CDA i.e. Park Enclave I, II, and III.

At present, the road has two lanes, both in dilapidated condition. In order to make the road better for traffic, the CDA had decided to add one extra lane on each side to make it a three-lane artery and repair the existing lanes.

An official said the progress on the project was far behind the deadline, but hoped that the project would be wrapped up within a few months. “The work has picked pace,” he added.

Another official disagreed with the assessment and said looking at the current pace of work, it would be far-fetched to say that the project would be completed within the next few months. The official said the shifting of the utility lines from the alignment of the road was one of the major reasons for its sluggish progress.

A CDA high-up, however, said he would call a meeting to find out the reasons behind the delay in this project. He claimed the civic agency would ensure a timely completion of the Park Road project.

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2023