Work on Rs. 8 Billion Underpasses in Rawalpindi to Start in January

The Punjab Communication and Works Department will start construction on three underpasses on Peshawar Road in January as part of the plan to complete a signal-free corridor from Ammar Chowk to Motorway Chowk.

The department will execute the Rs. 8 billion project through the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO), which has already been working on the remodeling of Kutchery Chowk.

A senior official said the underpasses at Race Course Park Square, Army Graveyard Square, and Chairing Cross will break ground in January. He added that the department instructed traffic police to prepare a diversion plan by the end of December.

He stated that the government will issue work orders to the FWO in December and expects the project to finish within three months. He noted that 250,736 vehicles use this stretch of Peshawar Road daily and that the new underpasses will allow traffic to pass the busiest intersections without delays.

Punjab Highway Department Executive Engineer Rana Qamar Saqib confirmed that the construction will begin in January and said that all preparations have been completed. He explained that the three underpasses form part of a larger Rs. 30 billion signal-free corridor plan.

He said the government is spending over Rs. 14 billion on Kutchery Chowk and Rs. 8 billion on the new underpasses, while Rs. 6 billion has already gone into the GPO Chowk underpasses. He added that the government also plans to construct a flyover at Ammar Chowk at an estimated cost of Rs. 3.450 billion and is currently preparing the PC-I for the project.