RAWALPINDI: The Punjab Communication and Works (C&W) Department has yet to break ground on three planned underpasses along Peshawar Road, with the monsoon season now less than a month away.
The underpasses, to be built at Race Course Park, Army Graveyard, and Chairing Cross, are central to a 25-kilometre signal-free corridor linking the Islamabad Expressway to Motorway Chowk. Once operational, the corridor aims to cut travel time between the two points to 15–20 minutes.
While the GPO Chowk interchange was completed last year and the Kutchery Chowk remodelling wrapped up in May, formal construction on the three remaining structures has not commenced. Completion is now projected in the next fiscal year.
Officials attribute the delay to ongoing preparatory work. The executing agency is prioritising drainage infrastructure and service road construction before excavation begins, so that monsoon rains do not disrupt the project mid-course.
Formal digging is expected to begin within one to two weeks, after which completion is estimated at two months. Traffic police have been asked to prepare a revised traffic management plan, and the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board has been directed to carry out patchwork on designated alternative routes.
On the utility front, Executive Engineer Qamar Saqib of the Punjab Highway Department confirmed that the relocation of Sui gas pipelines, telephone cables, and electricity infrastructure along the Race Course to Qadir Motors stretch has been completed.
Construction experts, however, warn that excavation during monsoon rains risks waterlogging in open trenches, potential rework, and restricted use of heavy machinery, all of which could extend timelines considerably.
Whether authorities can deliver within their stated window remains an open question for the thousands of commuters dependent on this corridor daily.
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