Dhaka traffic to be smoother from Sept 2

Zarif Mahmud: A portion of the Dhaka Elevated Expressway is ready for traffic. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the 11.5 km stretch from Kawla near the airport to Tejgaon on September 2. The total length of this road including ramps is 22 and a half kilometers. Officially, the vehicles will be plying on September 3 from 6 am. However, motorcycle and three-wheeler vehicles will not run on the expressway, said the officials.
According to the information of the bridge department, the ramp is 11 km on the 11.5 km express road. A total of 15 ramps are being constructed from Airport Kawla. Of these, 13 will be opened. Banani and Mohakhali ramps are not fully ready yet. Both ramps are not open for now. The overall work progress of the project is 65 percent. The progress of work till Tejgaon is 100%.
Going to Farmgate area on the surface, it can be seen that a smooth road has come down near Manwara Park. It looks like a flyover has merged with the road. Some workers are working on that road. It is basically the ramp of Dhaka Elevated Expressway. This ramp is built near Metrorail. A passenger can quickly cross the airport from Farmgate through the ramp after the Metrorail journey.
The ramp joins the flyover from Farmgate to Holycross, over the railway station. Apart from this, arrangements have been made to cut both sides of the Vijay Sarani-Tejgaon flyover on express road.
The secretary of bridge department Manjur Hossain told Daily Industry that the total length of the runway from Airport Kaola to Tejgaon is 11.5 kilometers. However, the length of this road including the ramp is only 22 and a half kilometers. There are total 15 ramps from airport to Tejgaon. I will open 13 ramps. However, the two ramps at Banani and Mohakhali will not open immediately.
He also said, “Even if the airport is inaugurated on September 2, vehicles will operate from 6 am on September 3.”
According to the Bridge Department, the Dhaka Elevated Expressway (Ural Road) will work as a magic wand to ease the traffic congestion in the city. The overall work of the project is progressing rapidly. The length of the main lane of the four-lane elevated expressway up to Jatrabari is 19.73 km. The length is 11 and a half kilometers from Kawla near Shahjalal International Airport to Tejgaon Railgate. This section will be opened. Jatrabari can be crossed from the airport in just 15 to 20 minutes after the completion of the project. There are 31 ramps totaling 27 km for take-off. The total length of elevated expressway including ramps is 46.73 km.
First leg: South of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport from Kawla to Banani Railway Station, with a length of 7.45 km.
Second Phase: From Banani Railway Station to Moghbazar Rail Crossing, the length of which is 5.85 km.
Third Phase: From Moghbazar Rail Crossing to Dhaka-Chittagong Highway (Qutubkhali), remaining length. Construction of one thousand 482 piles, 326 pile caps, 325 columns, 325 cross-beams, three thousand 48 eye girders has been completed in the project. Besides, 3048 eye girders and 328 bridge decks have been completed.
The project was to be implemented from July 2011 to December 2014. The cost of the main project was estimated at Tk 3,216.87 crore. Later the duration of the project was extended till December 2016 keeping the project cost unchanged. Due to the increase in the amount and cost of the existing parts of the project, the cost of the project in the first amendment has increased to Tk 4,889 crores. At the same time, the time is extended till December 2020.
For the second time, by bringing amendments to the project and increasing the time and cost, the concerned said that the work would be completed by June 2023. Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport-Kuril-Banani-Mahakhali-Tezgaon-Moghbazar-Kamalapur-Syedabad-Jatrabari-Dhaka-Chittagong highway (Qutubkhali) has been estimated to cost Tk 8,940 crore.
Bangladesh Bridge Authority sources said that after the implementation of the flyover, alternative roads will be created in the north-south of Dhaka. The elevated expressway will provide direct connectivity to the Hemayetpur-Kadamtali-Nimtali-Sirajdikhan-Madanganj-Dhaka-Chittagong highway-Madanpur. The flyover will not only provide relief to the passengers of the airport and Jatrabari route, but also help the vehicles from the eastern region including Chittagong, Sylhet and the southwestern region to directly enter the northwestern region without entering Dhaka via the Padma bridge. Vehicles coming from the northern region will be able to bypass Dhaka and travel directly to the southern and southwestern region. It will ease traffic congestion in Dhaka and its surrounding areas.