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RAWALPINDI, Dec 14 (APP): The construction work on Kachehri flyover and related underpasses is gaining momentum as major base beds solidification, guide beams and pile work are near to complete. The timely completion of the project is the crucial target for the government.
A major phase was completed with the casting of the first deck slab on the 567-metre Iftikhar Janjua Underpass, making it the first fully roofed structure among the ongoing projects. Guide beams at the site are now fully complete, while 648 of total 840 piles have been driven, with work continuing on the rest.
At the busy Kachehri Chowk, progress is steady on both the 878-metre flyover and the 530-metre underpass. All 101 piles for the flyover are done, four out of eleven pile caps have been cast, and reinforcement work for the pier shafts is going on around the clock. The underpass has its guide beams on both sides fully completed.
At Jinnah Park, the 531-metre flyover has all 24 piles and 5 pile caps finished, with steel fixing for piers underway with full speed. About 70 metres of the 258-metre retaining wall are built, and most bed and lean concrete work is complete.
The adjacent 480-metre Jinnah Park Underpass has seen 300 metres of guide beams completed, 391 out of 446 piles completed, 140 metres of capping beam, and 120 metres of NJ barrier steel fixing.
The project aimed to connect Islamabad Express Highway with the GT Road, Peshawar Road through old Airport Road, making it a signal free route.
Rana Qamar Ali, Executive Engineer (EXEN) of the Punjab Highways Department, confirmed APP that the first full deck slab and over 70 percent completion of girders on the longest flyover have shifted work into high gear. “This will transform Rawalpindi’s traffic flow in the coming months,” he said.
The projects are part of a major urban infrastructure drive by the Punjab government under Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, targeting the city’s worst traffic issues.
Once finished, they will end chronic jams at Kachehri Chowk, Iftikhar Janjua Road and Jinnah Park cross over, cut commute times and create smooth and congestion-free routes. The mega project involves five junctions at main Kachehri Chowk being worked with flyovers and underpasses, Iftekhar Janjua Road, Jinnah Park, Qasim Market on Peshawar Road and remodeling of Ammar Chowk.
Approved by the Provincial Development Working Party, the combined projects cost over Rs13.3343 billion.395