Rawalpindi underpasses construction has officially begun as Rawalpindi’s traffic-choked Race Course Park and Charing Cross intersections are set for a major upgrade, as construction on two new underpasses begins this week under a Rs. 8 billion infrastructure package.
Construction begins on September 7, and the project has been assigned to the Frontier Works Organization (FWO), the military-run engineering body responsible for several major road and infrastructure projects across Pakistan. The two underpasses are intended to ease chronic congestion at two of Rawalpindi’s busiest chokepoints, both of which see heavy daily traffic from commuters, commercial vehicles, and cross-city travellers.
Why These Two Locations Matter
Race Course Park and Charing Cross sit along some of Rawalpindi’s most heavily used arteries, connecting residential neighbourhoods with the city’s commercial core and onward routes toward Islamabad. Both locations have long been flagged by traffic police and city planners as bottlenecks where signal-controlled intersections struggle to cope with peak-hour volumes, leading to long queues, higher fuel consumption, and frequent minor accidents.
Under the new plan, the FWO will build separate underpasses at each location, allowing through-traffic to pass beneath the intersections while surface-level lanes continue to handle local and turning traffic. City officials expect the change to significantly cut peak-hour travel times once both structures are complete.
Project Scope and Timeline
According to officials, the Rs. 8 billion allocation covers civil works, drainage, utility relocation, and road realignment at both sites. The FWO has previously executed several signature infrastructure projects for provincial and federal governments, including motorway sections and urban flyovers, and is expected to mobilise equipment and manpower for both underpasses simultaneously.
Key facts about the Rawalpindi underpass project:
- Locations: Race Course Park and Charing Cross intersections
- Contractor: Frontier Works Organization (FWO)
- Budget: Rs. 8 billion
- Construction start date: September 7, 2026
- Goal: reduce peak-hour congestion at two major Rawalpindi intersections
What This Means for Commuters
For daily commuters, the practical impact will depend on how quickly both underpasses are completed, but the intent is clear: separating through-traffic from local traffic at these two intersections should cut the stop-and-go delays that currently affect thousands of vehicles every day. Similar underpass and flyover projects elsewhere in Rawalpindi and Islamabad have previously shown noticeable improvements in travel times once completed, and officials will be hoping for a similar outcome here.
Rawalpindi’s roads have seen a wave of similar upgrades in recent years, from the General Post Office Chowk project completed last year to the Kutchery Chowk remodelling finished in May 2026. Officials point to those projects as evidence that the signal-free approach works, even though residents typically endure months of dust, diversions, and slower commutes while the underpasses themselves are being built. For now, motorists travelling through Peshawar Road are being advised to plan extra time for their journeys and to follow the posted diversion routes until the new underpasses are ready for traffic.
The two underpasses are also part of a wider plan for a 25-kilometre signal-free corridor running from the Islamabad Expressway to Motorway Chowk, which authorities say could eventually cut travel time along that stretch to just 15-20 minutes. The original design called for three underpasses, at Race Course Park, Army Graveyard, and Charing Cross, but planners later revised it to two underpasses, with an at-grade road replacing the proposed Army Graveyard structure. Utility relocation work, including electrical pylons, water lines, and telecom and cable networks, has already been completed at both remaining sites, and alternate service roads are ready for use, with traffic being diverted via routes such as Qasim Market to Radio Pakistan and Maryam Hospital to Rafay Mall while work is underway.
Key takeaway: With construction now underway, residents can expect months of localised diversions around Race Course Park and Charing Cross before the new underpasses open to traffic and ease one of Rawalpindi’s longest-standing congestion problems.
Source: ProPakistani
