More roadworks: Two underpasses at Kalma Chowk approved

The government has approved the building of two underpasses at Kalma Chowk linking Garden Town and Gulberg’s Main Boulevard at a cost of Rs1.125 billion, with construction work due to start in just a few days, The Express Tribune has learnt.

Project Director Mazhar Hussain confirmed that a budget had been approved for the two underpasses, but refused to give any project details. He said the design details for the underpasses would be finalised in a couple of days, at which point he would be able to share them with the press.

Officials in the Traffic Engineering and Planning Agency (Tepa) said that according to the approved proposal, the three-lane underpasses would be 5.1 metres high, meaning they could be used by heavy traffic as well, unlike most of the underpasses in the city, which are 3.6 metres high. Given their additional height, they would be longer (about 600 metres) as well as steeper, with a five-degree slope rather than a three-degree slope. They said the underpasses would be built in two months.

The Tepa officials said the longer underpasses might cause some traffic problems. Vehicles entering the underpass from Garden Town towards Gulberg would exit past Centre Point, meaning vehicles heading for Defence via Ali Zeb Road would have to travel towards the Liberty Roundabout and then back, creating further congestion at the already busy junction.

They said that they expected the government to address the design issue so that the underpass could be shortened before construction starts in a few days. “The MBS design was changed several times too. The government will have to reconsider” the length of the underpasses, an official said.

The officials said that once the underpasses were finished, vehicles would no longer be able to take u-turns at Kalma Chowk, or to take right turns when approaching from slip lanes, as the bus corridor beneath and between the flyovers would be sealed off with railing, as along the rest of the Metro Bus Service route. They said that the decision to do so had been made recently.

The abolition of turnings at Kalma Chowk for ground-level traffic due to the sealed-off bus lane would also make life more difficult for vehicles on Ferozepur Road, said the officials. It would mean that rather than take a u-turn or right turn at Kalma Chowk, vehicles would have to travel to the Canal intersection, to the turning at Gulab Devi, to the Liberty Roundabout, or to Garden Town.

“Road users will have to travel an extra kilometre, maybe more, to take u-turns. This will add to the congestion at all remaining turnings,” one official said, adding that he expected the government to reverse the decision.

Chief Traffic Officer Captain Sohail said that they had already made traffic flow plans for potential underpass construction at Kalma Chowk, as well as at Azadi Chowk and Qainchi. He said he wasn’t aware that Kalma Chowk was to be closed for ground-level traffic.

The construction of an underpass for Model Town is currently underway. Officials said that the top slab of the tunnel had been finished, meaning that buses could run overhead on the MBS route. They said that the project would be finished in another 40 days. They said that the top slabs for the Kalma Chowk underpasses would be finished quickly so they didn’t disrupt bus services. They said that they expected work on the MBS not to finish till February, well past the deadline for the project set by the chief minister.

Urban development: Multan Road widening to be finished in February

The expansion of Multan Road between Chauburji and Scheme Mor is to be completed by February, provided sewerage work is finished on time, said the project director.

“We will finish the work by January 31, which is the official deadline,” said Project Director Sabir Khan Sadozai. He said apart from the cost of land acquisition, the project would cost Rs805million.

He said that currently the National Logistics Cell (NLC) was working on a central drain that was in two parts: one section from Yateem Khana to Scheme Mor, and the other from Yateem Khana to near Samanabad Mor. This drain would join with the Cantt drain.

Sadozai said that the Water and Sanitation Agency was laying sewerage lines on both sides of Multan Road. He said that both NLC and Wasa had stated that they would complete their work by the end of November. “After that, we will complete the road construction within eight weeks,” he said.

The Multan Road project has caused major travel headaches for local residents, particularly as work on the Metro Bus Service on Ferozepur Road is also ongoing. Multan Road is used by more than 160,000 vehicles every day, said Sadozai.

Two major intersections on Multan Road – Yateem Khana Chowk and Scheme Mor   are to be widened in the ongoing road project. These chowks will have slip-lanes and signal-free corridors. Sadozai said that the slip lanes would be separated from the main road at some distance from traffic signals so that vehicles going straight don’t clog the lane and block the vehicles turning left. He said that the project would leave the road without traffic problems for at least five years.

Officials connected with the project said that 34 kanals had already been bought on both sides of Yateem Khana Chowk, at a cost of Rs700 million, while 27 kanals would be acquired at Samanabad Mor.

Revenue officials said that the government would need to buy an additional 21 kanals   11 in Nawakot and 10 in the revenue limits of Pakki Tatthi   if it were to build a Metro Bus Service lane on Multan Road. The National Engineering Services of Pakistan (NESPAK) and Turkish company Ulasim have already done a feasibility study for an MBS lane on Multan Road.

The officials said that the acquisition of land, normally a painstaking process resisted by residents, had been surprisingly simple in the Yateem Khana Chowk area. They said that much of the land had been owned by Anjuman Himayat-i-Islam. After they agreed a price, they began demolishing their own buildings. “Once that happened, the rest were easy to convince,” said the officials.

They said that owners of land within 50 feet of the road were paid Rs1 million per marla – Rs0.85 million per marla for the land, and Rs0.15 million per marla for construction cost – while owners of land further away from the road were paid 0.84 million per marla   Rs 0.69 million per marla for land, and Rs0.15 million per marla for construction.

The officials said that the government should have purchased the land required for the MBS on Multan Road, as it would have caused less disruption in the area if it were to do so now rather than later. They said that the government had dropped the idea of buying the land immediately some six weeks ago, “due to political interference”.

Earlier work on Multan Road

The expansion of Multan Road began in October 2009 and the section from Thokar Niaz Beg to Scheme Mor, around 7.3 km, has been rehabilitated. The government allocated Rs2.13 billion for works on this section. Some Rs1.66 billion was allocated for land acquisition and relocation of roadside facilities and Rs308 million for a sewerage line. A 72-inch trunk sewerage line 40-foot deep is also being laid at a cost of Rs1.43 billion. The line would address sewerage problems in Canal View Society, Azam Garden, Mustafa Town and other areas between Chungi and Thokar Niaz Beg.

Alongside the 7.3 km stretch of three-lane road, this section has 3 km of service lanes and 80 green belts have been turned into parking stands. Seven taxi stands have been built. Seven pedestrian bridges have been constructed while one is under construction.

Load management: Road works and special events cause traffic chaos

A combination of major road works and an influx of students for the Punjab Youth Festival and political workers for a Pakistan People’s Party rally resulted in traffic jams across the city on Monday.

For several weeks, large sections of Ferozepur Road, Lower Mall and Ravi Road have been blocked for the construction of the Bus Rapid Transit System, while the expansion of Multan Road is also currently underway, resulting in frequent jams at alternative routes.

On Monday, the traffic situation was even worse as thousands of students were bussed into Gaddafi Stadium for the Youth Festival, while thousands also arrived for a rally in support of newly appointed PPP Punjab President Mian Manzoor Wattoo from the airport to The Mall.

Chief Traffic Officer Captain (retired) Sohail Khan said that the closure of routes for construction work and the two major events in the city had resulted in major traffic problems on Gulberg’s Main Boulevard and Canal Bank Road.

And he warned that things will get worse over the coming days as contractors rush to finish work on the BRTS to meet the chief minister’s deadline of November 20. On Sunday, the chief minister ordered that trucks carrying construction material also travel during the daytime.

Captain (r) Khan said that 22-wheelers escorted by traffic wardens on motorbikes would be moving girders to the BRTS construction site. He said 24 wardens had been assigned to escort the trucks and clear a path for them through traffic. Sections of the road where the girders are being installed would be cordoned off, which would result in additional delays.

He urged commuters not to use the roads unless necessary, especially during rush hour. He also appealed for patience. “Yes there is inconvenience owing to the construction work, but as soon as the project is complete, the people will see its benefits,” he said.

Nov 20 deadline for BRTS Completion

November 20th has been set as deadline for the completion of major infrastructure for the Metro Bus Service, including an eight-kilometre elevated track and a bus depot, though the contractors say it will likely take a few weeks longer.

Once the major work is complete, test runs of the bus service will be conducted for around a month, during which time anyone can ride the buses for free. Officials working on the project said they were hopeful that the first bus would run by December. Forty five articulated buses for the MBS are due to arrive in Karachi from Sweden on November 26, and in Lahore around a week later.

There are seven principal contractors for the MBS – the National Logistics Cell, MAAK sons, Habib Construction Services, ZKB, IKAN and SKB/Albarak (a joint venture by the two companies.

“We are utilising all our resources. Some 5,000 people are working on the MBS right now,” an official at one of the companies said. “They are working at full speed. Even if they continue at this pace, it will be another 15 to 20 days (after Nov 15) before the work is finished.”

Officials said that during his tour of the worksite on Sunday, the chief minister initially proposed a deadline of November 15. The contractors protested, but he only gave them five more days.

The cost of the building the 27.3km MBS, running from Gajju Mata to Shahdara Chowk, mainly along Ferozepur Road, has surged to around Rs31 billion. It includes an eight-km bus-only elevated track from New Muslim Town to Bhati Chowk. Officials said that the project may later be extended in both directions so the bus runs from Kahna to Shahdara Railway Station, a distance of some 32km.

Officials said that some plans for the MBS had been postponed. A bridge for the MBS on over the Ravi had been proposed earlier, but it won’t be built before the service becomes operational. The National Engineering Services of Pakistan (Nespak) is currently making terms of reference for the project.

Officials said there was some concern that the MBS articulated buses would be held up at the Old Ravi Bridge alongside normal traffic. They said that they were considering the possibility of running some MBS buses on shortened routes terminating at Bhati.

Ansar Butt, a deputy director at the Traffic Engineering and Transport Planning Agency (Tepa) who is working on the MBS project, said that they were working around the clock to try and meet the chief minister’s deadline. He said that some 1,200 workers were engaged in the 3.5km stretch of the project he was responsible for.

Butt said that non-Muslim staff would continue to work on the project during the Eid holidays, doing small works like compaction and sanitation. The Muslim labourers would get three days off.

He said that a bus depot was being built at Nishter, a u-turn at Hadiara and figure-8 turns at MAO College and Bhati Gate. He said that a depot was to be built at Shahdara, but that idea had been postponed for now. He said that the figue-8 turn at MAO College would be useful if the government went ahead with plans to build MBS routes on Multan Road and Canal Bank Road. He said that a German contractor would soon start installing escalators for some MBS terminals.

Lahore Transport Company General Manager Uzair Shah said that once the contractors finish the major infrastructure, the buses would be sent on test runs and the e-ticketing systems, screen doors at terminals, escalators and generators would be tested. He said that for the first four weeks, anyone could ride the buses for free.

He said that a company had been contracted for cleaning, while another would be contracted for security. He said that a proposal to establish a security staff for the MBS had been dropped.

Shah said that work on the Intelligent Transport System project would begin soon. Monday is the deadline for submission of bids for the project tender. Under the ITS project, the junctions along the route of the MBS would be modernised to include smart traffic lights and surveillance cameras.

Planning and development: Rs3.1 billion funding approved for rapid bus

The Provincial Development Working Party has approved funding for six development schemes for the Punjab, including Rs3,156.632 million for the Metro Bus Service. The money will be spent on building escalators and platform screen doors at bus stops, according to the title of the project.

The PDWP also approved funding of Rs4,459.021 million for the other five projects at its 15th meeting of the fiscal year, presided over by Planning and Development Board Chairman Javaid Aslam.

These schemes include a project for the rehabilitation of the 41.8km Gujranwala-Hafizabad road at a cost of Rs1,772.092 million; the widening and improvement of the 33.07km Qaziabad MM Road to Nawan Kot in Layyah district at a cost of Rs403.399 million; the widening and improvement of the Khushab-Muzaffargarh road (the 83.82km section from the Jhang district boundary to Muzaffargarh) at a cost of Rs2,263.785 million; a feasibility study and design review (PC-II) for the Leh Expressway in Rawalpindi at a cost of Rs14.745 million; and a feasibility study and planning and design review (PC-II) for a waste water treatment plant at Awan Chowk in Gujranwala at a cost of Rs5 million.

Planning and Development Secretary Arif Anwar Baloch also attended the meetin

Metro starts running in Makkah

Bus route to UK planned

MUZAFFARABAD, Sept 27: Authorities in Pakistan are planning to launch a bus route from the Azad Kashmir town of Mirpur to the British city of Birmingham — 8,000 kilometres away.
The mammoth journey would take travellers through some of the most dangerous areas of Pakistan on their way to Iran, Turkey and Europe before reaching the Midlands city after around eight days, officials said.  Tahir Khokhar, the transport minister of Azad Kashmir, said the fare would be around Rs20,000.