Rs 2.27 billion Zero Point Interchange Project: Construction Work to Start on July 15

ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) will start the construction work of Rs 2.27 billion Zero Point Interchange Project on July 15, CDA Chairman Kamran Lashari told media persons on Friday during a presentation on traffic diversion plan for the interchange project.He said that the project would complete within two years.

“The CDA has short-listed five firms for the project and the whole process would be completed in the next month and construction work will start on July 15,” said Lashari.The mega project will play a vital role in reducing the traffic problems in the town, he said. “The project was pending for the last several years due many reasons but now the CDA is now ready to start work on it,” he added.Lashari said that they had learnt lessons from the past mistakes.

“Now the consultant hired by the CDA to design the project has prepared a comprehensive traffic diversion plan to avoid traffic problems during the construction of the interchange. The consultant has prepared the diversion plan with the coordination of CDA and Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP),” he said.Replying to a question, he said that the CDA had appointed a special director to monitor the project during its construction to maintain the quality of work.Ongoing road projects: Lashari said that the authority has given deadline to contractors for the completion of ongoing road projects so that the smooth flow of traffic could be ensured.

The CDA has already started widening of Islamabad Highway up to five lanes, while the widening of Kashmir Highway will start within a month or two, he added. “Two rigid lanes will be added to both the highways to avoid rutting in future due to extraordinary heavy traffic. Weigh stations will also be set up at all the three under- construction electronic toll plazas,” said Lashari.Free of traffic signals: He said that the interchange would be signal-free allowing smooth flow of traffic coming from four directions.

The interchange will provide a permanent solution to traffic jams at Zero Point and growing traffic problems in the federal capital, he added.Maj (r) Fazal Karim, project manager of ECIL, a consultant firm hired by CDA for designing of the project, said that the construction of interchange would be completed in three phases.He said that in the first phase loops and slip roads of interchange would be constructed.

In the second phase, a bridge will be constructed over one lane of Islamabad Highway from Rawalpindi to Islamabad, Another bridge will be constructed on Kashmir Highway, he added. “During the construction of these bridges traffic will be diverted to loops and slip roads of the interchange and one side of Islamabad Highway and Kashmir Highway will be closed for traffic,” he said.In the third phase, a bridge will be constructed over the road from Islamabad to Rawalpindi and the other side of highway will be opened for traffic along loops and slips roads, said Karim.

The interchange comprises three loops and four slip roads having a length of 10 kilometres, he said.We have consulted the ITP to make the traffic diversion plan smooth and workable, said Karim. The consultant would soon install traffic signals, signboards and digital screens displaying alternate routes and diversions on all main routes of the federal capital, he added. He said that the motorists would also be urged to use existing alternative roads to avoid congestion on the project site.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Muhammad Zubair Hashmi said that Zero Point Intersection would be made signal-free within a week and hoped that it would also work during the construction of project.