ISLAMABAD - The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has commenced work on widening the Kashmir Highway from Zero Point Interchange Project (ZPIP) to the 9th Avenue (Peshawar More) by adding 2 lanes to each of the side of the carriageway.
Chairman CDA Engineer Farkhand Iqbal performed ground breaking of the project on Tuesday.
While addressing on the occasion, the CDA Chairman said that this impeding section of the highway required upgrading with compatible features of Zero point project as the commuters while entering/leaving the ZPI experienced sudden decrease which is very dangerous from the road safety point of view.
This abrupt decrease in capacity from 4 lanes to 2 Lanes was also causing driving discomfort, congestion and safety hazards for the commuters. He said that addition of 2 lanes of 3.65m width along with 2.0M shoulders on either sides of the carriageway would not only facilitate the smooth flow of the traffic but also add to the benefits of both the Zero point interchange and Kahmir Highway projects. The project scope also includes provision of side drains and installation of Kerb Stones at shoulders edge and installation of traffic safety gear.
The construction of grade separation facility at Zero Point Islamabad consists of major structures comprising bridges, overhead structures and underpasses with road widening on three major highways namely Islamabad Highway, Kashmir Highway and Sharah-e-Suharwardy with loops and slip roads in clover leaf configuration.
The project to be completed at a cost of Rs 50 million has been envisaged for provision of five lanes in each direction on Kashmir Highway from Zero Point to 800 metres on Kashmir Highway towards 9th Avenue and would be completed by December 31 this year.
The construction work on New Islamabad Airport is expected to be completed by next year. With the operation of this new airport, expansion of residential sectors/housing societies, traffic from Peshawar and Islamabad Motorway increased traffic volumes will be generated on Kashmir Highway. Keeping in view the above, CDA has started the work on construction of widening of Kashmir Highway (5 lane each carriage way) up to Peshawar More and presently the work is on progress. 
The CDA Chairman said that the Authority is striving to provide quality road infrastructure for the capital city. He said that the CDA has initiated a new era of development in the city and has started the construction of Margallah Avenue, Kashmir Highway, 11th Avenue and a number of other projects in an effort to make Islamabad a model metropolitan of the country. He said that the city’s basic and neglected issues including affordable and decent public transport facility for the residents are being addressed. He said that the provision of portable water to the residents is the top priority and a compressive programme has been launched to resolve this issue.