RAWALPINDI: A traffic plan issued by the City Traffic Police for the Mall Road underpass construction will come into effect from Monday (today).

A spokesman for the traffic police said the Punjab government was starting the construction work on the underpass on February 24.

During the construction, Mall Road will be temporarily closed from Military Hospital to TM Chowk and traffic will be diverted to Haider Road to move towards Kutchery Chowk using Marir Chowk, Murree Road and Rashid Minhas Road. No parking will be allowed on Haider Road and Murree Road up to the Jang building u-turn.

Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Benish Fatima said additional personnel had been deployed on alternative routes so that the flow of traffic could be maintained to facilitate commuters.

She said the senior traffic officer, the deputy superintendent police traffic VVIP and the DSP traffic headquarters will be responsible for ensuring traffic flow on alternative routes.

The CTO appealed to the citizens to follow the instructions and in case of any problem or difficulty contact the social media handle of the traffic police or its helpline number 051-9274843.

She said the traffic police were taking all possible steps for the safe and comfortable travel of the citizens.

Meanwhile, the traffic police have announced that the entry of heavy vehicles will not be allowed in the city during the Champions Trophy matches on February 24, 25 and 27. The ban on the entry of heavy vehicles will be from 7:30am to 1:30am. Heavy vehicles (HTV) coming from Peshawar will be stopped at Margalla and Taxila, and from M-1 Peshawar Motorway at Burhan Interchange. HTV coming from M-2 will be stopped at Chakri Interchange. Heavy traffic from Lahore via G.T. Road will be stopped at Mandra toll plaza while those from Murree and AJK will be stopped 20km before the Satra Meel toll plaza.

Published in Dawn, February 24th, 2025