ISLAMABAD - The dualization of 28-kilometer Rawalpindi-Kahuta road, one of the last minute projects approved by the previous government, seems a far off dream due to paucity of funds, leaving the artery’s ownership in lurch as no civic body is ready to carry out necessary repair work. Punjab Highway Department, Rawalpindi Development Authority, National Highway Authority and Capital Development Authority are putting the road maintenance responsibility on each other after the project approved by the Central Development Working Party and the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) in February and March respectively.
Following which, the NHA had taken up the 28 km Rawalpindi-Kahuta but could not get the no-objection certificate (NOC) so far from the Punjab government and administrative approval from the Planning Commission. Last time, the Punjab government had reconstructed and widened the Swan-Kak bridge section of the Kahuta road by allocating special funds just before the General Election-2013, turning a blind eye towards its mandatory post-construction maintenance. Now, the road is in dilapidated condition where most of the vehicles are driven in zigzags to avoid rough patches especially near Sihala Police Station, Model Town Humak and the underpass connecting the Grand Trunk road.
The underpass gives a pool like look after even a light rain due to deep and wide ditches and absence of any drainage system.
The residents of Model Town Humak, a rural area of the CDA, have appealed to the quarters concerned for immediate repair of the damaged road to end their ordeal. “This part of Kahuta road shares major burden of vehicles as its one end touches the GT road and the other links Islamabad Highway. It also links Azad Kashmir with other parts of the country,” Muhammad Afzal, a resident of the area told APP. Zaheer Ahmed, another resident said, the worsening condition of the road and risky driving can cause fatal accidents any time, as on one side of the busy artery is the residential area consisting schools and colleges, while the other is designated for factories. He also expressed concerns over queues of long-vehicles, trucks and oil tankers parked along both sides of the broken road, sometimes half on road, which narrows the passage for other traffic.
When contacted, official sources in the NHA admitted that the project was very important and strategic, terming it “important link” with AJK. They said PC-I of the project had been approved but “the Planning Commission is not issuing administrative approval.” The sources said there was no delay on part of the NHA in start of the construction work on the project, adding that in March the then prime minister had performed groundbreaking on one segment of the up gradation plan in Kahuta. “New alignment is of high speed with improved geometrics,” they said and clarified that the NHA would construct new alignments, and responsibility of the existing infrastructure rested with the Punjab government. The sources said the NHA was awaiting the NOC from the Punjab government to initiate practical work at the provincial owned highway. The project for dualization of 28 km long section is divided into two packages; less than 16.5 km section will be built from Kak bridge interchange to Trikiyan, while the 12 km will be from Trikiyan to Kahuta.
The project includes a 4-lane bridge over Sihala railway crossing, Sihala bypass and Kahuta bypass in addition to three bridges, one underpass and 50 box culverts. Lane width will be 3.65 m (each) with 0.6 m inner shoulder and 2.5 m outer shoulder. The design speed will be 100 km/hr in plain terrain and 80 km/hr in hilly terrain. The total cost of the project (including land cost) is around Rs. 12 billion. The existing road is presently of two lanes that starts from GT road (N-5) interchange near Swan and passes through Model Town Humak and Kahuta city entering Azad Jammu and Kashmir. It carries immense strategic value and is the shortest route for the traffic coming from Rawalakot, Kotli to Islamabad and vice versa.
The existing road is insufficient to accommodate the ever growing volume of traffic resulting in severe congestions especially at the Sihala railway crossing, where traffic remains choked and jammed for hours and local population is facing immense difficulty. Besides, the route carries heavy traffic due to oil cargo vehicles coming from GT road. There is another impediment near Kahuta, where steep slope causes problems for heavy loaded vehicles. Widening of this road is the utmost requirement to accommodate the smooth flow of traffic and facilitate the road users of the area. The project will ease existing difficulties along with a substantial decrease in transportation cost for heavy traffic. The agriculture products will also reach their respective destinations in time and the troubled citizens living along both sides of the road will get the much needed relief.