Khushalgarh bridge closed to traffic created miseries

Source Dawn

The closure of Khushalgarh bridge over Indus River on Pindi- Kohat road has created a lot of problems for the commuters between the two cities, it has been learnt.   

The centuries old Khushalgarh bridge, which used for  both road and railway traffic,  was closed for all sort of road  traffic some on  Thursday for emergency repair work.

The historic bridge comes under the administrative control of Pakistan Railways, the sources said.

They said the bridge connects Punjab with Khyber Paktunkhawa (KPK). It was built by British rulers around 109 years ago in 1904.

It will remain closed to traffic for maintenance and necessary repair of the road for about a month till July 25, the sources said.

One alternative route is Kohat-Peshawar road via main GT road. For this the commuters have to travel over 250-km extra distance, causing wastage of time and extra fares, they observed.

As a result,   closure of the bridge has caused a lot of inconvenience and hardships for thousands of people who travel on this route on daily basis besides suspension of inter-provincial goods transportation.

The administration of Attock and Kohat districts have made alternative arrangements to facilitate the commuters, under which,  Kohat and Rawalpindi bound vehicles drop passengers at the respective starting points of the bridge.

Then the passengers have to cross about 500-meter-long bridge on foot to reach the other side and catch bus. But such practice is not an easy job especially for women and elderly people and in case of heavy luggage with them, it revealed.

Some local people of Jand and surrounding villages told Dawn that the authorities had chosen a wrong time for repair of the bridge particularly when Ramazan was just a few days away.

Khushalgarh bridge to be closed for 15 days

Source Dawn

The Khushalgarh bridge on Kohat-Rawalpindi road, which is also used by traffic from the southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, will remain closed to traffic for maintenance and necessary repair of the road for 15 days.

Officials said that the century-old bridge on the Indus River would remain closed from June 25 to July 10 next for construction of the road. The alternative routes would be Kohat-Peshawar hilly track for heavy vehicles going to Rawalpindi and Kohat-Peshawar route via Sheikh Allahdad road.

The road of the bridge develops holes after every six months due to passage of heavy tankers carrying oil from local fields to Rawalpindi. Last time the road was reconstructed after it was washed away by the 2010 floods.

MOL, OGDCL provide soft loan of Rs 700m

Source Pakistan Observer

Managing Director MOL Pakistan, Erno Liptak said that OGDCL and MOL have provided Rs.700 million soft loan to the National Highway Authority (NHA) for the early completion of new Khushal Garh Bridge.

Talking to media, he said that the joint venture partners were glad that the dream for a new Khushal Garh bridge on the River Indus would become a reality in the near future, said a press release issued here.

He said each infrastructure project not only creates new jobs, but also opens up new opportunities for economic development.

“The new bridge will provide quicker and easier access for the people traveling between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab through Kohat Road on one hand and on the other it will help further enhance oil and gas exploration activities in the area.” He said that they are glad to be a part of this project of significant economic and strategic importance for Pakistan.

New Khushalgarh bridge to bring prosperity: Alamgir

Source The News

Federal Minister for Communications Dr Arbab Alamgir Khan Khalil said Thursday that the construction of new bridge at Khushalgarh will bring a new era progress and prosperity in the southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He expressed these views while addressing a public gathering on the occasion of ground breaking ceremony of the bridge performed by Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani. The minister in his address said that this 373 meters long bridge will be a two-lane bridge which can be converted into four lanes in future to accommodate the traffic pressure. He said this Rs24 billion project will be completed in 24 months, and MOL Pakistan and OGDCL will provide assistance to the National Highway Authority (NHA) in this project.

Arbab Alamgir said after the discovery of oil and gas reserves in Kohat, this bridge will be of importance in transporting crude oil to Attock Oil Refinery. The minister said the present democratic government, which is moving forward with the vision of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto, has launched development projects throughout the country without any discrimination.

He said that the completion of new two-lane Khushalgarh bridge will bring revolutionary changes in the area and not only the people of the area will benefit from it but it will also boost trade, tourism, industry and agriculture of the country.

New Rs.1.4 billion Kohat Pindi bridge planned

Source The Express Tribune


The National Highway Authority (NHA) will spend Rs1.4 billion to construct Khushalgarh Bridge across the Indus River on the Rawalpindi-Kohat Highway (N-80). A source in the NHA told APP on Sunday that the project design has been completed and a project proposal of Rs1.72 billion has been recommended by the NHA Executive Board and forwarded for approval.
Under the plan, NHA will build a four-lane bridge over the Indus River. Approach roads at Kohat and Fatehjang are also part of the project. NHA will also be responsible for operation and maintenance of the new two-lane, two-way bridge. The NHA has already signed an agreement for provision of an interest-free loan of Rs700 million with MOL Pakistan and Oil and Gas Development Company.
The new bridge will be useful for transporting fuel from oil and gas fields around Kohat.

Khusall Garh Bridge construction agreement

Source Daily Mashriq

An agreement has been finalised between NHA, OGDC and MOL for the construction of bridge at Khuskhal Garh Kohat. According to details the agreement will be signed on 14th October.The agreement inter alia says that to transport the Oil and gas found in Karak and Sakirdara area to Attock refinery the Khashall Garh is the best route so it should be immediately built. The funding should be 50 percent financed by NHA while remaining 50 percent should be shared by OGDC and MOL equally. The brigde should be prepared in 27 months and work on it will be started in the mid of November 2010. The cost on the bridge is about 1.4 billion rupees.