By Abdul Ghani

The National Highway Authority (NHA) has allocated around Rs598 million this year for safety upgrades at different locations on the strategically important Hakla-Dera Ismail Khan Motorway (M-14), according to documents available with Wealth Pakistan.

The rehabilitation initiative follows an independent third-party validation of the motorway undertaken by the NHA after deterioration and safety-related issues were observed at different locations. The planned works are currently under procurement and will target sections requiring improvement.

The authority has already undertaken corrective measures at some of the most critical locations. A settled portion at 4+500Km on the southbound carriageway (SBC) has been permanently rectified, while affected locations at 83Km on the northbound carriageway (NBC) and 142Km on both carriageways have been temporarily repaired through routine maintenance.

Of the motorway's 292 kilometres assessed, 157.68 kilometres (54%) have been classified as good, while 99.28 kilometres (34%) are rated fair. Another 35.04 kilometres, representing 12%, have been categorised as poor and require greater attention.

According to the assessment, 88% of the motorway is classified as either good or fair, while the new rehabilitation programme is expected to address the more distressed portions and improve the overall quality of the corridor.

M-14 is a major connectivity project linking Hakla on the M-1 Motorway with Yarik near Dera Ismail Khan. The four-lane, greenfield access-controlled motorway was substantially completed and officially opened to traffic in January 2022.

According to the project's salient features, the motorway was developed at a PC-I cost of Rs110.208 billion and has a 100-metre right-of-way. Each of the four lanes is 3.65 metres wide, complemented by inner and outer shoulders.

The motorway infrastructure includes 11 interchanges, 20 toll plazas, 20 weigh stations and four service areas. It also has three major bridges across the Sawan, Indus and Kurram rivers.

The rehabilitation programme is expected to improve safety and reliability for passenger and freight traffic and strengthen connectivity between the federal capital region and Dera Ismail Khan.

Credit: INP-WealthPk