RAWALPINDI: The construction of the Adiala Road flyover at Khawaja Corporation Chowk for Rs2.113 billion has started and is expected to be completed by the end of June this year.

Deputy Commissioner Dr Hassan Waqar Cheema told Dawn that the Communication and Works Department would execute the work and the provincial government had asked the authorities concerned to complete the construction by June. About 8 kanal and 11.5 marlas of land have been acquired for the Khawaja Corporation Flyover on Adiala Road, which cost Rs317.623 million.

Communication and Works Executive Engineer Rawalpindi Rao Tahir said that the administrative approval of the project is Rs2.113 billion. The 1915-foot-long flyover will be 52 feet wide and 16.75 feet high, he said, adding that the number of underground piles is 72 and 14 had been com-pleted.

He said that 49 concrete girders would be used for the bridge, adding that the casting of girders was underway. According to sources, Rs850 million has been released for the project for the financial year 202425. Of this, Rs 611.937m has been spent. The work of transferring utility services has also started, with 50 per cent of the work so far completed, while the construction of the boundary wall was also underway. The provincial government transferred Rs264.314 million to Islamabad Electricity Supply Company (Iesco) and Rs30 million to Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) to shift utility lines.

After the project, the Rawalpindi Ring Road will be connected to the city and cantonment areas with the Adiala Road intersection. According to the deputy commissioner, a committee has also been formed to look after the quality and the speed of the construction work. He said that 22-foot service roads would also be constructed onboth sides of the flyover, adding that the work was progressing rapidly on a 10.9-kilometre road from Khawaja Corporation to Gorakhpur village, at an estimated cost of Rs1.626 billion.

He said that the district administration decided to conduct a fresh survey of the area as per the Land Revenue Department records to get Adiala Road free from encroachments. He further said that the provincial government had asked the administration to clear roads and remove hurdles in the smooth flow of traffic and pedestrians. He said that Adiala Road was an important access road for the Ring Road and plans were underway to make it signalfree.

He said that after the completion of the flyover, the provincial government would start the work to make The Mall from Ammar Chowk to Motorway Chowk a signal-free corridor so that the people could enter the city and cantonment areas from Ring Road without any hurdles.