News
Rs8bn Rawalpindi Peshawar Road Underpasses Move Into Construction
By Mariam Khan
Real Estate Analyst
4 min read
The Punjab Communication and Works Department began construction on 7 September 2026 on two major underpasses at Race Course Park and Charing Cross on Peshawar Road, Rawalpindi, part of an Rs8 billion project executed through the Frontier Works Organisation. Utility shifting and alternate service roads have already been completed, with traffic on Peshawar Road being diverted to newly built service corridors running from Qasim Market to Radio Pakistan and from Maryam Hospital to Rafay Mall to keep the main artery moving during construction.
The Plan Was Actually Revised From Three Underpasses to Two
Authorities had originally planned three underpasses along this stretch, at Race Course Park, Army Graveyard, and Charing Cross. That plan was subsequently revised so that only two underpasses, Race Course Park and Charing Cross, are now being built, while the Army Graveyard site will instead receive a simpler at grade road rather than a full underpass structure. This is a genuine change from the project's original scope, not simply a phased rollout of the same three sites.
What Each Underpass Actually Involves
The Race Course underpass is designed as a single barrel, two lane structure extending 1,886 feet, paired with close to three kilometres of surrounding road rehabilitation. The Charing Cross underpass follows a broadly similar engineering approach, and both structures include dedicated U turn facilities specifically intended to preserve local access to GT Road throughout the corridor. Construction of both underpasses is expected to take around two to three months.
Part of a Much Larger, Rs33 Billion Rawalpindi Signal Free Push
These two underpasses are one component of a considerably larger infrastructure programme reshaping Rawalpindi's road network. The wider initiative, valued at approximately Rs33 billion, combines flyovers, underpasses, and road widening across several of the city's most congested junctions, including the Kachehri Chowk signal free corridor and the Jinnah Park flyover and underpass scheme, alongside the separate 38 kilometre Rawalpindi Ring Road project with its own five interchanges. Collectively, this programme is designed to serve a city of roughly two million residents and an estimated 250,000 daily commuters navigating what has long been an overstretched road network.
Why Peshawar Road Specifically Matters
Peshawar Road functions as Rawalpindi's busiest artery, linking Ammar Chowk to the motorway entrance, and these underpasses form part of the planned 25 kilometre signal free corridor running from Islamabad Expressway to Motorway Chowk. Authorities are targeting a travel time of roughly 15 to 20 minutes along this corridor once complete, a significant reduction from current conditions on a route that has long been defined by chronic congestion.
About the Organisation Building It
Frontier Works Organisation, commissioned in 1966 to construct the Karakoram Highway, has since grown into one of Pakistan's leading infrastructure development organisations, with a track record spanning motorways, highways, bridges, tunnels, and dams nationally. FWO is also the contractor already engaged on Rawalpindi's related Kachehri Chowk signal free corridor scheme, meaning the same organisation is currently executing multiple linked components of this broader city wide infrastructure push simultaneously.
What Remains to Be Confirmed
While the two underpasses are now under construction with a stated two to three month timeline, no specific completion date has been confirmed for the Army Graveyard at grade road component, nor for the full 25 kilometre signal free corridor's other remaining segments. Given the scale and number of interlinked projects under way across the city simultaneously, sequencing and coordination between these different sites will matter directly to how smoothly the overall corridor comes together.
What This Means for Property Around Race Course, Charing Cross and Peshawar Road
Better connectivity along one of Rawalpindi's busiest corridors carries genuine relevance for accessibility and demand around Race Course, Charing Cross, and the wider Peshawar Road corridor, both for commercial activity along the route itself and for residential areas relying on this artery for their daily commute. Given that alternate service roads are already operational and traffic is being actively managed to avoid full closures, property and business owners along the corridor should expect continued, manageable disruption during the two to three month underpass construction window rather than a full road closure. Longer term, the corridor's eventual signal free status and improved Islamabad to Motorway connection represents a meaningful accessibility upgrade worth tracking closely as construction progresses across this and the surrounding linked projects.