60 Pc Work Of Layyah-Taunsa Bridge Completed

Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published July 25, 2019 | 04:54 PM

Under-construction bridge over the Indus River linking two major cities of southern Punjab Layyah and Taunsa is going on smoothly and the project is likely to be completed in February next year

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Jul, 2019 ):Under-construction bridge over the Indus River linking two major cities of southern Punjab Layyah and Taunsa is going on smoothly and the project is likely to be completed in February next year.

The project site is located in between Layyah, east bank of the Indus River, and Taunsa, the west bank of the river in district DG Khan. Scope of the project includes two lane approach roads and training works. Work on the Rs 2690 million project started in February 2018 and its completion date is February 19, 2020. So far about 60 per cent physical work of the project has been completed, an official of National Highway Authority (NHA) told APP on Thursday.

He said Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) had given approval of the project in October 2017 and in the ongoing fiscal year Rs 1000 million have been allocated for the project.

Due to the absence of a proper river-crossing between the two cities,the only two links available are DI Khan-Darya Khan Bridge located 88 km upstream of the project site and Taunsa Barrage located about 52km downstream, said the NHA official.

With no bridge linking Layyah and Taunsa, the residents of both the cities are facing immense difficulties as they have to travel 100km by road from Layyah to Taunsa or vice versa.

A direct route through the bridge would help reduce the distance between the two cities by up to 50km � from 120km through Taunsa Barrage currently.

Sharing further details, he said the flow of traffic from east to west would be facilitated by providing a link between N-55 (North-South Corridor) and Pindi Bhattian- Multan Motorway.

The west bank of the Indus River, near Taunsa, would also be connected with the provincial road network on the east side of the Indus, he added.

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