Islamabad  - Much to the amusement of hundreds of commuters who travel daily to the central part of the city through Islamabad Expressway, the CDA has announced to start work on Koral Chowk Interchange, the busiest point of the 25-km road from Zero point to GT Road.
As many as five interchanges are planned to be established on the expressway as a part of Islamabad Signal Free Corridor Project one each at Sohan, Khanna, Koral, Japan Road and T-Chowk.
Koral Chowk provides a formal entry to Islamabad through other parts of Punjab and a real traffic mess is witnessed at the very junction almost throughout the day with public transport, heavy traffic and private cars honking to irritation.
“Eleven contractors have been shortlisted by Chairman CDA for the construction of five interchanges and that work on the first one at Koral Chowk will be started later this month,” said Project Director of Capital Development Authority (CDA) Shahid Mehmood while talking to APP.
He said the road from Koral to T-Chowk would be widened after the establishment of Koral Interchange, adding, work on the five interchanges would be completed within a period of six months.
A large number of private housing societies are situated along the highway from Koral Chowk to Rawat while more are establishing, giving rise to the number of private vehicles with each passing day and it was the long cherished demand of the residents to widen the road, besides making it signal free.
“This very section does not deserve to be called a highway as its two dilapidated lanes are often choked when a truck breaks down in the middle, causing inconvenience for not only motorists but ambulances as well,” said Zulfiqar Shah, a resident of Soan Gardens located at the highway.
He welcomed the announcement of the CDA and said with the construction of an interchange at Koral and then widening of road after that, the situation would definitely improve.
It is pertinent to mention here that with the establishment of interchange at I-8 intersection, together with widening of the road from Zero Point to Faizabad, have lessened, to some extent, the traffic woes of the motorists as previously long queues of vehicles were witnessed at the very junction particularly during office and school hours.
Shahid Mehmood further informed that work on second phase of the project, from Faizabad to Koral, was already underway, in which, the five lane road at each side would be rehabilitated together with proving grade separating facility, while the service roads at each side would also be dualized. He said the 12.5-km portion from Koral to GT Road would be widened to four lanes at each side which would hopefully resolve the traffic issues there.
Being established with a cost of Rs 21.814 billion, the Islamabad Signal-free Corridor, once established, would benefit hundreds of thousands of motorists by reducing the travel time over the 25 km road by at least 20 minutes, besides giving a comfortable journey to them.
“The residents of private housing societies are anxiously waiting for the start of work at the third phase. Although inconvenience will have to be faced during the work period, yet after completion it will be a total sigh of relief for the motorists,” said Aslam, a resident of Humak Town.
It can also be hoped that after the completion of the project, number of traffic violations and accidents on the road will also reduce to a great extent. “The mega project of Signal-free Corridor became possible only with the priority the government was giving to the development and beautification of the federal capital,” he added.