LAHORE Exactly as planned, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif is all set to inaugurate on the auspicious day of the countrys Independence (August 14) the Kalma Chowk flyover, formally ending decades of woes of the motorists, especially the residents of Gulberg and the nearby localities. The project has been completed within its timeframe. The commuters, especially those using the Ferozepur Road, have been facing huge inconvenience over the years. Their woes were temporarily gone to new heights following the start of construction work on the flyover project. Diversion of traffic to alternative route had put additional burden on the branch roads, thus causing frequent jams much to the agony of the residents of these areas. The Kalma Chowk flyover project, which was announced on March 4, 2011 and was started on April 2, 2011 with an estimated cost of Rs2.8 billion, has been completed in time. (Its completion deadline was decided by August 13.) The length of the flyover is estimated at 660 meters and the width 10.7 meters. Two flyover of three-lane each has been constructed on both sides of the Ferozepur Road, which not only rid the people of their traffic problems at Kalma Chowk, but also streamline the flow of traffic at the Main Boulevard and the Ferozepur Road. It is believed that once the underpasses open for traffic, air pollution in the region would go down and fuel consumption of vehicles to improve due to a less braking. In the first phase, flyover has been constructed while in the second phase underpasses will be built. According to the Project Manager Sabir Khan, the construction work on the proposed underpass at Kalma Chowk (from Garden Town side to Centre Point side in Gulberg) would be start after inauguration of the flyover and the CM will announce the deadline of its completion. The contract for construction work on Kalma Chowk Flyover was awarded to the Sub Project Management Unit of the Communication & Works department and the National Engineering Services Pakistan (Nespak) had altered the flyover design in view of the traffic situation. As many as one million commuters cross the square daily and over 396,044 vehicles were recorded passing through the area on a daily basis. The Kalma Chowk had been widened twice before, but was a regularly choked with traffic. At peak hours wardens usually switched off the traffic signals and directed traffic manually but the queues of vehicles at the Chowk often stretch back to the previous signal. According to C&W the twin bridges had been completed on Aug 8 and beautification work such as plantation and installation of lights and tiling of sidewalls has been completed on Saturday. The department was tasked with completing the project in four and a half months. The department hired renowned construction company, National Logistic Cell, and consultancy firm, Nespak, to ensure quality.