Rawalpindi Ring Road Opening Delayed by a Month

The opening of the Rawalpindi Ring Road to traffic will take one more month. Work on the toll plaza and weighing stations is still not complete, a senior district administration official told Dawn.

After the remaining work ends, the provincial government will fix the date for inaugurating the road. The project has been constructed at a cost of Rs50.4 billion.

Toll plaza and weighing stations still in progress

Eight weighing stations will be installed to calculate the weight of heavy trucks for toll purposes. After that, the Ring Road will open for heavy and light traffic, the official said.

Work continued on toll plaza booths, and procurement of weighing machines was not yet complete. Construction of the weighing stations will take two to three weeks. Installation of the weighing machines will start after that.

“It will take two more weeks to install Intelligence Transportation System and Electronic Toll Collection by Punjab Ring Road Authority. The whole work will take a month or more,” the official said. Sensors will weigh trucks and calculate the toll.

Toll plaza booths are being installed in Baanth and Thalian. Punjab Ring Road Authority offices are also being established, along with residential areas for officials. Thalian interchange work will start after traffic opens on the Ring Road. The official said the work would likely be complete by December.

What the Rawalpindi Ring Road will carry

The road will operate at a design speed of 120 kilometres per hour. It has five interchanges and six-lane controlled access, with a 90-metre right of way.

The route includes two bridges on the Soan and Sill rivers, 12 bridges on different nullahs and roads, one railway bridge near Baanth and 11 overpasses. The road is built to move heavy through-traffic around the city rather than through it.

For Rawalpindi residents, the delay means another month of existing routes carrying the load. For truck operators, the weighing and toll system matters directly. Tolls will be calculated from sensor readings, so accurate weighing is a precondition for opening, not an optional extra.

A long history behind the new alignment

The Ring Road has a troubled history. During the PTI tenure, the road was planned to be 68 kilometres long. After a financial scam, work stopped and a new alignment of 38.3 kilometres was approved.

Imran Khan laid the foundation stone of the road in March 2022. Later, the Pakistan Democratic government led by Shehbaz Sharif temporarily halted the project. It gave the go-ahead after a third-party validation with the new 38.3-kilometre alignment from Baanth to Thalian. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif laid the foundation stone at Rawat on August 8, 2023.

That history explains why officials are careful about the opening date.

The pattern is familiar across the region’s infrastructure. Dera Murad Jamali Bypass Stalls Over Funding reported a Balochistan bypass held back by funding gaps years after work began. In Rawalpindi, the constraint is different: the road itself is ready enough to discuss, but the systems that will charge for it are not.

Meanwhile, the capital next door has seen road works of its own. Islamabad Closes Rawal Dam Chowk to Serena Road covered the closure of a key Islamabad route for underpass work, a reminder that the twin cities are rebuilding several junctions at once.

What happens next

The sequence from here is fixed. Weighing stations take two to three weeks, then weighing machines go in, then the Intelligent Transportation System and Electronic Toll Collection take two more weeks. Only then will the provincial government set an inauguration date.

If that sequence holds, completion lands in December. Any fresh announcement on the inauguration date will be the signal that the tolling and weighing chain is finally ready.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the Rawalpindi Ring Road opening delayed?

Work on the toll plaza and weighing stations is still in progress. Weighing machine procurement is incomplete, and the Intelligent Transportation System and Electronic Toll Collection still need installation.

When will the Rawalpindi Ring Road open?

Officials say the work will take a month or more and will likely be complete by December. The provincial government will fix the inauguration date after the remaining work ends.

How much did the Rawalpindi Ring Road cost?

The road was constructed at a cost of Rs50.4 billion, according to a senior district administration official.

How long is the Rawalpindi Ring Road?

The approved alignment is 38.3 kilometres from Baanth to Thalian, after an earlier 68-kilometre plan was dropped following a financial scam.

What tolling system will the road use?

Eight weighing stations will weigh heavy trucks, sensors will calculate tolls, and the Punjab Ring Road Authority will run Intelligent Transportation System and Electronic Toll Collection.