IMPACT OF MALAKAND TUNNEL PROJECT ON N-45 TRAFFIC OPERATIONS

Abstract

Malakand pass is a mountainous pass in Malakand District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which begins at Dargai and ends at Batkhela at an altitude of 470 meters and 663 meters respectively. It connects district Mardan with distrct Dir lower, Dir upper, Swat and Chitral. The existing road traverses steep gradients and dangerous winding curves with various recurring landslides. This makes movement of freight carriers difficult besides causing extra-consumption, breakdowns and accidents. The National Highway Authority has suggested the construction of Malakand tunnel to provide a short route for the people of Malakand, Upper Dir, Lower Dir and Swat. The focus of our study is to identify the existing problems at Malakand pass between Dargai (starting point) and Batkhela (end point) and the impact of this project on the traffic operations of N-45. The comparative analyses between existing road and proposed alignment in terms of geometry, travel time benefits, fuel consumption savings, crash cost savings and vehicular emissions savings have been carried out and the analyses revealed that the traffic operations at proposed alignment yields more savings. The economic efficiency analyses of this project has also been carried out which shows the benefits of undertaking this project.