Major schemes to ease jams in limbo

M Abul Kalam Azad
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Most of the projects initiated to improve the city's traffic mess remain trapped in the pipeline due to fund crunch and the inefficiency of the communications ministry.

So far only two link-road projects have been completed while construction for three more link-roads are underway.

The opening of the link-road between the Prime Minister's Office and Agargaon in 2007 and the Bijoy Sarani-Tejgaon link road in 2009, did not have much positive impact on the overall traffic situation in the surrounding areas.

Similarly, three projects -- development of Hatirjheel-Begunbari area, the Kuril interchange and the Zia Colony-Matikata interchange including an overpass at the level crossing on Banani Staff Road, which are expected to be completed next year, will not significantly improve traffic movement in those areas.

According to experts, the implementation of two or three projects will not resolve the persistent and ever increasing traffic congestion in a city where the population and the number of vehicles are growing at an exponential rate. The situation will not improve unless all the projects are implemented in a coordinated way.

“Just increasing the overall road capacity will not be the soul solution to the problem. You have to construct new primary roads like Mirpur Road and Pragati Sarani as well as a good number of link roads to increase capacity for more vehicles,” pointed out Shamsul Haque, a professor of civil engineering department at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet).

Meanwhile, construction of the Jatrabari-Gulistan flyover is making progress. The flyover is due to be completed in June 2013.

Of the projects stuck in the pipeline, the Dhaka Elevated Expressway, Shantinagar-Mouchak-Moghbazar-Tejgaon flyover and Jurain level crossing projects have been finalised. Construction work on these projects is yet to start.

Other projects including construction of the metro rail, bus rapid transit (BRT) line-3, Babubazar-Shantinagar flyover, Gabtoli-Azimpur corridor, Tongi-Ashulia-EPZ 4-lane road, Tongi-Ashulia elevated expressway, Eastern bypass, Jatrabari-Kanchpur 8-lane highway, a tunnel from Jahangir Gate to Rokeya Sarani, Babubazar-Postagola link road and development of Gabtoli-Sawarighat road are still in the planning stage.

Once the Zia Colony-Matikata interchange, the overpass at Banani level crossing and Kuril interchange are completed, people can drive uninterrupted to and from Jahangir Gate and the Airport. “But permanent congestion will develop at both the ends if solutions are not devised in this regard,” Prof Shamsul, who is involved in six projects, told The Daily Star.

The Zia Colony-Matikata and Banani overpass will benefit residents living in Mirpur and Pallabi areas, as the travel time to the Airport, Banani, Gulshan and Kuril Badda will lessen drastically.

Recently, the government has decided to construct four U-loops at Radisson Hotel, Army Stadium, Kakoli and Setu Bhaban, and to turn the Banani overpass into six lanes, instead of four.

The three-kilometre Kuril interchange at Airport Road and Pragati Sarani will also help traffic movement at the intersection and on the Airport Road.

Prof Shamsul said the Airport Road is about to face a huge pressure, as hundreds of thousands of people from Purbachal and Uttara Third Phase projects will need to use the road everyday. “The government should quickly think about it,” he added.

The Hatirjheel-Begunbari roads are likely to be opened on a temporary basis from November to help movement of vehicles on Tongi diversion road and Pragati Sarani, although the project is yet to overcome the hurdle of land acquisition.

“Even though it's not a road development project, it will help ease the east-west traffic movement and reduce pressure on other roads,” said Prof Shamsul, adding congestion on Pragati Sarani will increase once the two roads from Aftabnagar and east Badda connect with it.

Initiated in 2007, the project was due to be completed by June 2010.

The prime minister inaugurated the Jatrabari-Gulistan flyover project in June last year. Belhasa Accom and Associates Ltd, an associate company of the Orion Group and concessionaire of the project, is implementing the project at a cost of Tk 1,350 crore on Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) basis.

Of the remaining projects, construction of MRT-6, also known as Metro rail, from Uttara Third Phase to Syedabad, has been delayed due to partial modification of the route in February. JICA showed interest in financing 80 percent of the project cost, which is around $ 1.7 billion.

Construction of the Bus Rapid Transit from Sadarghat to Gazipur now seems a distant reality while construction of the elevated expressway will be delayed due to various hurdles. The Tk 775-crore project undertaken for an uninterrupted traffic flow between Azimpur and Gabtoli, through construction of elevated U-turns and underpasses is caught in the red-tape due to fund crunch.

Besides, the construction of an overpass at Jurain level crossing, which was initiated two years ago, has it failed to make any headway till now.