Islamabad: The National Highway Authority (NHA) has decided to open the Hazara Expressway patch linking Burhan Interchange with Shah Maqsood Interchange to traffic on December 28, according to a news source. The 47-kilometre long signal-free expressway will have barbwires on both sides.
The loop connecting Shah Maqsood Interchange with Hawailian will be inaugurated on January 31, 2018, while Hawailian to Abbottabad part will be completed and opened to traffic on April 30, 2018. The completion of Hazara Expressway will reduce the travelling distance between Islamabad/Rawalpindi and Mansehra to two hours.
The Expressway patch running between Islamabad and Mansehra will be six lanes wide. The part connecting Mansehra with Shahkot will be constructed on a new alignment, instead of that of the existing Karakoram Expressway, which will also be used for transportation of heavy machinery for the construction of Diamer-Bhasha Dam.
