RAWALPINDI: The Soan River bridge will be reopened to traffic on August 14 after being repaired following the collapse of its portion 45 days ago.

Traffic has been suspended and diverted to an adjacent bridge.

“Yes, the bridge connecting Rawat to Kutchery Chowk is set to open on August 14 after its strength would be checked,” a senior official of the project said.

Requesting anonymity the official said after debris scattered on the bridge were cleaned and asphalt laid on potholes on the adjacent, there had been an improvement in the flow of traffic.

However, the road users, including residents of housing societies, should not be very happy over the reopening of traffic on the repaired part of the bridge because a lot of construction work (widening of the bridge over Soan river) started many years ago is yet to be completed.

The commuters could see debris and construction material scattered on the road, rainwater accumulated on the bridge with no drainage and beggars roaming around vehicles.

A few days ago, the regional police officer (RPO) and the city police officer (CPO) Rawalpindi remained stuck in a traffic jam in the area and their resentment forced the authorities concerned to clean the bridge, to which traffic has been diverted, from potholes and installed asphalt on the depressions to ensure smooth flow of traffic.

The filling of potholes, installation of asphalt on depressions and cleaning would have been done before the two-way traffic was put on the bridge soon after a part of the bridge connecting Rawat to Katchery Chowk collapsed on June 27.

Thousands of commuters would have not faced hardships due to the poor management.

The two police officers expressed their anger when they were stuck in the traffic jam while going to attend the funeral prayer of a martyred head constable in Gujar Khan on Wednesday night.

CPO Syed Khalid Hamdani took notice and called the city traffic officer and the senior traffic officer, and suspended 23 traffic officials besides initiating an inquiry against them for being absent from duty on Morgah and Bostan road on that day.

A special cell was later established at the CPO office to monitor the traffic situation and presence of wardens on duty. The situation has changed to some extent but traffic wardens could still be seen gathering at one point and chatting at the Soan station.

It is a common scene that traffic wardens stand in groups, chat with each other or with drivers of public transport, ignoring the traffic mess and suffering of commuters stuck in traffic jams.

A female officer worker who daily travels from Chaklala to DHA II said it takes an hour to cross the Soan bridge in the morning and an hour on her return in the evening.

“I can’t properly manage my family as my precious time is consumed in traffic jams. Is there anybody who could realise the suffering of common people,” she remarked.

She thanked the two police officers who realised the public suffering when they themselves passed through the ordeal.

Another resident of a housing society said he wished the chief minister or the prime minister gets stuck in the traffic jam one day so that they could feel the public distress.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2023