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Alternative Murree Road to be completed by year end

RAWALPINDI: The construction of 6.8 kilometre long alternate route of ever busy Murree Road will be completed at an estimated cost of Rs 250 million by the end of December this year.

Official sources said here on Tuesday that the new administration has duly approved the project on which construction work is about to start.

National Logistic Cell (NLC) the contractor of the project has started preparations after slackness of about six months.

NLC sources said "that work had to be suspended due to certain hurdles and impediments but now the situation has become clear and NLC has been given green signal to resume work."

He further said "timely payments of the required funds have been promised so that work is carried out with full force and speed. The process of land acquisition from different government and private owners has also been completed be added.

The work from Rialto Chowk to Sir Syed Public School has significantly progressed and the remaining part will be carried out at an early date, NLC official said.

The alternative road will have four lanes and will greatly help in reducing the traffic burden on the over congested Murree Road on completion.

The alternate road is a major development project initiated under Rawalpindi Development Package in 1998 to facilitate the commuters of the twin cities of Rawalpindi/Islamabad who face great hardship.

The project however suffered some delay due to certain amendments and revisions in the original design prepared for widening of Murree Road and construction of Express Way.

With completion of the road, traffic on Murree Road would be considerably off-loaded from Rialto Chowk upto Chandni Chowk. APP