- New toll plazas to have modern facilities like weigh-in bridge, security cameras
- Project aimed at reducing traffic congestion at town entrances
By Imran Naeem Ahmad
ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has kicked off a project to set up state-of-the-art toll plazas at a trio of entry points to the capital city, complete with landscaping and allied facilities.
A committee headed by CDA Chairman Kamran Lashari recently approved the concept drawing of the plazas that would be built at the Kashmir and Islamabad highways and IJ Principal Road, an official responsible for the project told Daily Times on Monday.
Project Director Sanaullah Aman said the toll plazas would be of international standard and have facilities such as weigh-in bridge and security cameras.
“At the moment, we do not have a weighing system because of which overloaded trucks often enter the highways unchecked – their excessive weight destroying the roads,” he said.
He pointed out that the project was also aimed at reducing traffic congestion at the entrances to the town where vehicles get stuck and long queues build up. “The toll booths will surely help erase that,” he said.
He said that security cameras at the plazas would keep a record of all vehicles entering the capital for six months.
The existing tollbooths at the three points are in a state of disrepair and do not provide a good first impression to visitors. Furrowed tarmac, broken windowpanes and litter combine to make them an eyesore.
But Aman insists all that would change once the new plazas are up and ready this July. “The concept sites have been allocated by the Planning Wing and the project would meet all international requirements,” he maintained.
Contract for a six-lane plaza along the Kashmir Highway has been awarded to Signage Security Systems while Toll Link would build those on Islamabad Highway and IJ Principal Road comprising four lanes each.
According to contractual details, the companies involved in building the toll plazas would be given a concession period of five years to collect toll following which they would be required to hand over the facilities to CDA. However, all through the period of concession, the companies would pay rent to the CDA.
The companies would bear all cost of the project including that of construction, supply and installation of equipment, operation, management and maintenance of the facilities. The land is to be provided by CDA.
Aman pointed out that the toll facilities would see modern payment methods and facilitate motorists with pre-paid tickets. “There would be a fast lane for such vehicles,” he said.
Traffic in Islamabad has grown manifold in recent years with thousands of trucks and buses mostly overloaded streaming into town from the three entry points. Due to the heavy loads that they carry, their slow movement hinders the flow of light transport vehicles passing through the toll lanes.