Flyover at Shaukat Khanum Hospital crossing delayed

LAHORE: Construction work on proposed flyover at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital crossing has been delayed for about two and a half month, which will ultimately increase the cost of the project and miseries of thousands of daily road users till the completion of the project.

The project was delayed due to lack of funds and some objections raised in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report of the project, said Mazhar Khan, TEPA Chief Engineer, while talking to The News. He said the construction work on this project was started and in the first phase asphalt layer is being laid down to regulate the traffic during the main construction period.

On the other hand, EIA report of the project revealed that 70 trees of various species and sizes planted on both sides of main road at this crossing at Khayaban-e-Jinnah will be chopped off. The project, which is expected to be completed within the next six months, may witness increased noise and air-pollution levels, environmental experts said, adding delay in the construction will result in environmental problems.

The project will start from Khayaban-e-Firdousi and will end at Khayaban-e-Jinnah opposite (Pak-Turk School), said a senior LDA official, adding its total length is 1.04-km with design speed of 75km/hr as it is a dual carriageway while total width of flyover available is 17.0m in the length of 1.04km. Land use of the project area is mainly commercial and residential along with a few educational facilities, medical facilities, and religious sites on both sides of the road.

Environmental experts believe that citizens have to face dust, noise and extreme temperature problems due to delay in construction of this project. An EIA report of the project had already mentioned that the project area has extreme climate as it has hot summer and cold winters. The summer starts from April and lasts till September. May, June, and July are the hottest months and maximum and minimum temperature ranges from 40.4ºC and 27.3ºC, respectively for these months while the winter seasons last from November to March. December, January and February are the coldest months with maximum and minimum temperature ranges from 19.8ºC to 5.9ºC in January. Temperatures in the project area vary from 5.9ºC to 40.4ºC.

Environmental experts added that if further delayed, the project may witness extreme impact of monsoon as well as urban flooding. They said as per EIA of the project, the project area receives rains in all the seasons but monsoon rain is pronounced and constitutes a definite rainy season between the month of July and September.

Environmental experts further claimed that environmental parameters like noise level at the proposed project site already exceeded the maximum permissible limits while the ambient air monitoring indicated that all parameters are also increasing and will cross the permissible limits of Punjab Environmental Quality Standards (PEQS) as soon as the main construction is started.

Traffic congestion and time delays have started to occur while during the construction phase traffic jams may increases affecting hundreds of thousands of road users, environmental experts said, adding air quality may also deteriorate during ongoing pre-construction (site clearing) and construction phase of flyover due to construction activities (operation of construction machinery, dust emissions, vehicular movement, etc.).

A senior LDA official said no land acquisition will be made for the construction of proposed flyover while no physical cultural resources (mosque, madrassa, shrine or graveyard) are located within COI of the proposed project area; therefore, no mitigation measures are required.

“Due to the proposed construction activities, traffic management may pose a challenge to the project area i.e. Shaukat Khanum Hospital Intersection, along Khayaban-e-Jinnah in front of Pak-Turk School while soil erosion is another major problem of the proposed project area which may arise during construction phase of the project,” the EIA report of the project revealed, adding disturbance to the public movement during construction especially the students and the residents residing at the proposed site, which is a temporary but moderate adverse impact during the construction phase.

All the adverse impacts of the proposed project have properly been mitigated and a comprehensive Environmental Management and Mitigation Plan (EMMP) have been formulated, said LDA CE, Mazhar Khan, adding implementation of EMMP will help reduce the adverse impacts of the proposed project. He said the project will be completed till May end.

Naseem ur Rehman, a senior official of EPD, said use of horn should be strictly prohibited in the close proximity of Shaukat Khanum Hospital and educational facilities especially during the peak hours. He said tree plantation plan must be followed during operational phase while operation and maintenance of the drainage structures and road wear and tear must be done periodically.

He added that the project will provide a smooth traffic flow at Shaukat Khanum Chowk and toward Khayaban-e-Firdousi and Khayaban-e-Jinnah, thereby facilitating thousands of residents of Southern Lahore commuting to suburbs of Lahore and vice versa.

He said the project will provide a safe passage to fast moving vehicles, reduce noise and air pollutions, less time will be required for travelling and reaching the destination, less fuel consumption will be another positive impact of the project in and around the project area and reduction in accidents due to traffic congestion.

Environmental experts said that a proper traffic diversion plan, which should be conveyed well in advance to the road users while health and safety plans for the workers must be followed during construction phase. They also demanded the government declare the project area a Silence Zone to reduce increasing noise pollution due to the presence of hospitals and various educational institutions.