ISLAMABAD, Mar 19 (APP):Over 97 per cent work of under-construction bridge over the Indus River linking two important cities of southern Punjab, Layyah and Taunsa has been accomplished and the project is likely to be completed in a few months, an official of National Highway Authority told APP on Friday.
The bridge is located in between Layyah, east bank of the Indus River, and Taunsa, the west bank of the river in district DG Khan. Scope of the project includes two lane approach roads and training works. Work on the Rs 2690 million project had started in February 2018 as ECNEC had given approval of the project in October 2017.
Due to the absence of a proper river-crossing between the two cities,the only two links available are DI Khan-Darya Khan Bridge located 88 km upstream of the project site and Taunsa Barrage located about 52km
downstream, the NHA official said.
Presently no bridge provides link Layyah and Taunsa, the residents of both the cities are facing immense difficulties as they have to travel 100km by road from Layyah to Taunsa or vice versa.A direct route through the bridge would help reduce the distance between the two cities by up to 50km — from 120km through Taunsa Barrage currently.
The NHA official said the flow of traffic from east to west would be facilitated by providing a link between Indus Highway (North-South Corridor) and Pindi Bhattian- Multan Motorway ( M-4). The west bank of the Indus River, near Taunsa, would also be connected with the provincial road network on the east side of the Indus, he added.
