ISLAMABAD: The 8km-long service road along Islamabad Expressway is filled with ditches and potholes and has been in need of immediate attention by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) since a long time.

“We have to use this bumpy road on a daily basis as we have no alternate route. Many times, we have raised our voice but CDA pays no heed,” said Yasir Ali, a resident of Pindorian.

Hundreds of motorists who reside in areas like Sohan, Mohammadi Town, Pindorian, Iqbal Town, Khanna Pul and Ghauri Town are dependent on this road, he added.

Another resident of the area, Mohsin Khan, said: “The CDA should overhaul and repair this road immediately.”

Road to be repaired after ongoing projects are completed, CDA officials say

Earlier, for financial year 2020-21, the CDA had earmarked Rs500 million for rehabilitation of the said road and tenders were also called but all of a sudden, the process was stopped.

The road is divided into two parts: the first part extends from Faizabad to Pindorian where it meets a dead-end due to the elevated expressway link with a petrol station and the second part begins at Pindorian and ends at Koral. In Pindorian, motorists are seen using wrong sides of the busy expressway which puts the lives of so many at risk.

CDA officials said whenever widening and overhauling of the service road would be carried out, the civic agency would link both portions of the road at Pindorian Stop through an underpass.

According to these officials, as per the PC-I, the road would be widened up to 36 feet. They said the project to widen the road was stopped last year as the civic agency decided first to focus on the main expressway before starting work on the service road.

When contacted, CDA spokesperson Syed Asif Raza said the CDA was cognisant of the issue in question, adding that widening of the main expressway was in progress from Koral to PWD and once the project was completed, the CDA would move towards fixing the service road.

“We will completely overhaul the service road,” the spokesperson said and added that during the last two years, the CDA had executed large many road and interchange projects in various areas of Islamabad.

“So, we will carry out this small project but after completing ongoing work on the expressway,” he said.

Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2022