Interchange construction to start in Feb

Islamabad: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) will start construction work for the Zero Point Interchange project, costing Rs190 million, next month. A senior CDA official told Daily Times on Monday that the authority has planned to divert traffic to Kashmir Highway and 9th Avenue during the construction of much-awaited Zero Point Interchange.

“The authority will encourage citizens to use Kashmir Highway through link road from 7th Avenue and 9th Avenue,” he said. The CDA, he added, will complete the project in three phases within 18 months.

The official said that CDA had expedited the construction work of 9th Avenue to open it to traffic before the construction of the interchange started.

In the first phase, loops and ramps of the interchange would be constructed, he said, adding that in the second phase a bridge would be constructed over one lane from Rawalpindi to Islamabad. He added that the road would be closed but loops and lamps would be opened for traffic.

The official said that in the third phase a bridge would be constructed over the road from Islamabad to Rawalpindi. The interchange comprises four loops and four ramps (an inclined surface or roadway that moves traffic from one level to another) with a total length of 10 kilometers.

The official said that the interchange would not have any traffic signal, allowing smooth flow of traffic coming from all four directions. The interchange will provide a permanent solution to traffic jams at Zero Point and growing traffic problems in the federal capital. He quoted a survey, which found that over 25,000 vehicles crossed Zero Point per hour from four directions during peak hours and the traffic load was increasing with every passing day.

It is learnt that the Zero Point Interchange project had been pending for the last 11 years due to CDA’s mismanagement. The official said the authority had allocated funds for the construction of the interchange and hired consultants several times.

“Despite getting financial autonomy from the federal government, the CDA still has to take permission from the Planning Commission, Finance Division and the Ministry of Interior to start mega development projects, which is a another reason for this long delay,” he added.

He said that the prolonged delay had aggravated the traffic problem in the federal capital and multiplied the project cost.

While talking to Daily Times, motorists said that the construction of Zero Point Interchange was necessary as the traffic load in the capital was increasing by the day.