Muhammad Sohail Janjua - Project for construction of over 10 kilometers long Elevated Expressway, from Gulberg to Motorway at a cost of Rs25 billion, is going to become another milestone with regard to provision of world-class infrastructure in Lahore.

For some quarters, this is simply not required at all, for others it is likely to cause environmental degradation, still others apprehend massive displacement of people and loss of businesses for many.

Let us objectively discuss the need of such a project for the provincial metropolis, the city of more than 10 million people. Lahore, the capital of Punjab and second largest city of Pakistan, has been the centre of activity between the northern and southern parts of region, throughout the history.

Because of the enormous potential for trade, commerce, industry and other economic opportunities, it has attracted people from all parts of the country. A large number of people have either permanently settled here or they regularly come to Lahore for their economic pursuits. So it has been transformed into a mega city during the past few decades as a result of rapid urbanization.

With the availability of personal vehicles and development of infrastructure like motorway, everyone wants to get to his destination as quickly as possible. Traffic going to north or coming from that side to Lahore via GT Road has been using Ravi Toll Plaza till a few years ago. Now Canal Road, Lahore, is the favourite and easier route for entering Lahore.

Starting from Thokar Niaz Baig, close to the exit of Motorway, Canal Road, Lahore, has so far been serving as the single entry point in the city for all the traffic coming either from northern side via motorway or from Southern side via Multan Road.

The vehicles using GT Road for coming to Lahore also prefer to divert to Motorway at Kala Shah Kaku interchange and enter Lahore by making exit at Thokar Niaz Baig for going to central and southern parts of the city.

Thus long queues of vehicles are a regular scene to be witnessed at this sole entry point of Lahore. This uneasy situation and prolonged wait for crossing toll plaza by vehicles becomes unbearable sometimes, especially on Eid occasions and other celebrations.

Construction of Lahore Multan Motorway is almost complete. It will join the existing Lahore-Islamabad Motorway. Vehicles coming through the new motorway will also add to the already unbearable pressure on Lahore Canal Road, where an additional lane is being added on the both sides of the road these days for catering to the ever increasing load of vehicles.

This road situation has necessitated provision of an additional route which could link motorway to the busy areas in the centre of the city and reduce pressure on Canal Road. Construction of Elevated Expressway from Gulberg to Motorway-M2 is the viable solution to this problem.

The alignment of Elevated Expressway has been planned in such a manner that it will pass through congested localities of the city, new, old, posh and middle class. Thus it will interconnect these areas through a shorter and easier route. It will also link together the major city roads like Main Boulevard, Gulberg, Jail Road, Canal Road, Ferozepur Road, Multan Road and Bund Road. Besides providing easy access to and from various localities, it will work as approach road to the motorway for traffic on these roads as well.

A close look at the city’s dimensions show that it has expanded largely in a liner shape, from north to south, with insufficient connectivity between eastern and western parts of the city, resulting in added pressure on traditional arteries.

Project for construction of Elevated Expressway from Main Boulevard, Gulberg to Motorway-M2 has been conceived as the first ever planned east-west connectivity corridor in the provisional metropolis that will reduce distances between far flung localities of the city in these parts of the city.

The Elevated Expressway will be the first ever East-West link for public transport in the city. Public transport network in Lahore has so far been directed from north to south and vise versa. The Lahore Metro Bus Service as well as the Lahore Orange Line Metro Train connects the northern parts of the city to the southern parts. The Elevated Expressway will be a dual carriage way with four lanes for traffic an each sides. Three lanes will be used by the vehicular traffic while the fourth lane will be dedicated for Metro-Bus Service.

For construction of Elevated Expressway, right of way (R.O.W) of existing drain will be utilized and private land is being acquired only where it is unavoidable. Barely a small number of houses of Shadman-II and Katchi Abadi Chaudhary Colony are being acquired for this project which will benefit millions of residents of the city.

A sum of around Rs3.5 billion is being disbursed for the land being acquired for this project. Besides the cost of their land, the land owners are also being paid displacement charges, business loss and cost of structure in order to compensate them to their satisfaction. Therefore, the apprehensions in this regard are not justified.

Concerns expressed by certain quarters about the effects of this project on city’s environment have also been adequately addressed. Parks and Horticultural Authority (PHA) has made arrangements for transplantation of trees that will be uprooted during execution of this project. Besides allocating a substantial amount for horticulture work for the project, more than 15 thousand new trees will be planted during execution of this project.

Lahore has witnessed unprecedented development activity during the past nine years which is contributing towards improving the quality of life of the people. Like in the case of Lahore Metro Bus Service, Lahore is also the first city in the country which is going to have metro train system as well as the Elevated Expressway which will also go a long way in developing the city as per international standards.