M-1 motorway (Pakistan)

M–1 Motorway
M–1 Motorway
Route information
	Part of AH1 AH4
	Maintained by National Highway Authority
Length	155 km (96 mi)
Existed	2007–present
History	constructed 2004–07
Major junctions
West end	Peshawar
	Burhan Interchange; Brahma Bahtar Interchange
East end	Islamabad–Rawalpindi
Highway system
	Roads in Pakistan

The M1 motorway (Urdu: موٹروے 1) or M1, is an east–west motorway in Pakistan, connecting Peshawar to Islamabad–Rawalpindi. The motorway was constructed during President Pervez Musharraf's rule in Pakistan at a cost of Rs. 13bn., and was opened in October, 2007. It spans 155 km (96 mi), with 88 km (55 mi) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 67 km (42 mi) in Punjab.

History[]

M1 motorway westbound towards Peshawar.

M-1 Peshawar Islamabad motorway was started during Benazir Bhutto tenure in 1993, the contract was awarded to Turkish company Bayindar. However, the work stopped after her government was dismissed by President Farooq Leghari.^[2] Nevertheless, work progress remained very slow and not much work was done between 1993 and 1997, the work was restarted in 2003, during President Pervez Musharraf tenure in 2003. The plan was made to connect the existing M2 motorway (Pakistan) with Torkham border. In 2004, the Senate body was briefed on a plan to connect Gwadar Port with existing motorway infrastructure, it highlighted importance of M-1 motorway in this context.^[3] It was completed with cost of Rs. 13 bn and was inaugurated by President Pervez Musharraf on 30 October 2007.^[4]

Route[]

M1 Peshawar Toll Plaza

The M1 originates northeast of Peshawar at the junction with the Peshawar Ring Road. It then crosses over the Kabul River in an eastern direction passing the cities of Charsadda, Risalpur, Swabi and Rashakai before crossing the Indus River. The M1 leaves Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and enters into Punjab province, where it passes through Attock, Burhan and Hasan Abdal. The M1 terminates near Islamabad as a continuation of the M2 motorway. The whole stretch of the M1 consists of 6 lanes, with a number of rest stops along the route. The M1 has 14 interchanges at Airport link road, Islamabad, AWT/ Sanjiani/ Paswal, Burma Bhatar, Burhan (Hassanabadal/ Kamra), Hazara Express(E-35), Ghazi, Chachh, Sawabi, Rashakai, Charsadda, the Peshawar Northern Bypass and Peshawar Ring Road. At Brahma Bahtar Interchange, the Brahma Bahtar-Yarik Motorway has commenced towards Dera Ismail Khan. There are 3 major bridges along the route along the Haro, Indus and Kabul rivers, 18 flyovers, 27 small bridges, 137 underpasses and 571 culverts. 10 service areas (five on the each side of the motorway) are present along the route.

Junctions and interchanges[]

West bound exits	Junction	East bound exits
M1 Motorway Junctions
PRR Peshawar Ring Road		Start of motorway
to Peshawar-Charsadda Road	Peshawar Northern Bypass	to Chamkiani & N-5 National Highway
to Charsadda & KP Highway S-1	KP Highway S-9	to Nowshera
to Mardan, Rashakai & N-95 National Highway	N-45 National Highway	to Risalpur
to Swabi, Topi	KP Highway S-6	to Jehangira
to Ghorghushti		to Lawrencepur
to Hasan Abdal & N-35 National Highway	N-5 National Highway	to Burhan, Attock
to Taxila/Wah Cantt		to Fateh Jang
to Rawalpindi, Islamabad	Kashmir Highway	to Islamabad International Airport