RAWALPINDI, May 8: The National Highway Authority (NHA) will start work on the construction of a flyover at the Mehrabad intersection on the Peshawar Road by August this year, an NHA spokesman told Dawn on Tuesday.

The Mehrabad roundabout, which was designed by the NHA a decade ago, has been declared faulty on the grounds that it adds to the misery of motorists, the business community and nearby residents. The roundabout is also causing road accidents, traffic jams, and noise and air pollution.

In the absence of a ring road or a bypass, heavy traffic passes through the Peshawar Road round the clock and there is no rule or regulation to check the movement of heavy traffic, which includes containers, trucks, buses, oil tankers and tractor trolleys. The Traffic Police is helpless to check them as they carry permits to enter the cantonment limits.

The NHA spokesman said that the design of the proposed flyover has been completed and approved. Its cost would be covered under the NHA’s annual maintenance budget, he said.

The spokesman said that the flyover would be completed within a year and would help reduce traffic congestion by at least 50 per cent.

Close to the Mehrabad roundabout, a private bus company also runs its terminal from where buses leave for different cities of the Punjab and the NWFP after almost every half an hour. This keeps causing traffic jams.

A fruit market authorised by the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board is also situated close to the roundabout, adding further to the congestion.

Parked vehicles and unauthorized wagon and taxi stands just in front of the terminal building on the Peshawar Road also cause traffic jams.

As a result of the traffic blockades students reach their classes late almost on a daily basis. People working in government and private organisations commuting in public and private transport also reach their offices late due to the traffic congestion at the Mehrabad intersection.