The Punjab government has decided to postpone the construction of the Thalian interchange as the Rawalpindi Ring Road moves closer to completion. Instead, the project will be opened for traffic with a temporary two-way carriageway link to the motorway.
A senior official from the divisional administration stated that construction work on the Ring Road has reached its final stage, with most of the main corridor completed and landscaping work currently in progress.
Officials explained that the Thalian section, where the Ring Road connects with the motorway, is being widened to handle expected traffic flow. More than 18,000 vehicles are anticipated to enter the motorway from the new route daily.
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Deputy Project Director Ashfaq Sulheri said the Rs5 billion Thalian interchange will not be initiated immediately due to pending administrative matters and will instead be taken up after the road becomes operational.
He added that the interim two way carriageway will ensure traffic movement until the interchange is constructed. Meanwhile, the National Highway Authority is working on expanding the service road to manage traffic demand.
Sulheri further said that the revised PC-I, which includes the interchange component, has already been submitted, but the priority has been to make the main road functional first. He said the provincial government has instructed the Project Management Unit to speed up construction before the monsoon season, with work now being carried out in three shifts.
Simultaneous work is continuing on interchanges, bridges, and road surfacing to recover delays caused by the monsoon season, with revised timelines in place to compensate for earlier slow progress.
The Rawalpindi Ring Road spans 38.3 kilometres and includes five planned interchanges at Banth, Chak Baili Khan, Adiala Road, Chakri Road, and Thalian, along with a proposed industrial zone along its route.
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