Big relief by June

The three bottlenecks that have been causing so much pain to travellers on Dhaka-Chattogram highway are expected to be removed by June.

The otherwise dual carriageway between the port city and the capital shrinks to a single one at the Meghna and Gumti bridges. The Kanchpur bridge is technically a dual carriageway but its width is not adequate.

Traffic often crawls to a halt at the approaches to the bridges and if there is a breakdown, it takes several hours to clear up the nightmarish mess. 

It is not uncommon for travellers and truckers to spend 10 to 12 hours on the 192km highway, the busiest in the country, instead of what should be five hours at best.

Congestions, especially during Eid holidays and weekends, often make travellers' life hell on this highway.

But things are likely to be different during the coming Eid-ul-Fitr holiday as three four-lane bridges parallel to the existing ones and an overpass would be opened to traffic by June, officials say. 

All of them are being built by Japanese firms and they are spending Tk 1,000 crore less than what was estimated.

The construction of the new Kanchpur bridge on the Shitalakkhya is over and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina might open it early next month, officials add.

The work of the new Meghna bridge is expected to be completed by April and the new Gumti bridge by June. The overpass on the east end of Kanchpur bridge is likely to be finished by March.

“We expect to open all three bridges before the Eid. We hope people will enjoy a pleasant trip to their near and dear ones,” said Abu Saleh Md Nuruzzaman, project director of the three bridges.

When all major infrastructure projects are facing delays and cost escalations, the bridges are expected to be completed ahead of time and costing less than what was thought to be Tk 8,487 crore in the development project proforma (DPP), officials said.

Under the project, the existing Kanchpur, Meghna and Gumti bridges would also be refurbished, they added.

The four-lane Dhaka-Chattogram highway, touted as the economic lifeline of the country, was formally opened in July 2016 amid high hopes that it would boost trade and make road communications smoother between the capital and the port city.

But the reality is quite the opposite.

People heading for Chattogram face gridlocks near Kanchpur bridge, as the highway abruptly narrows down to four-lane road from eight right before the bridge. The 7.2km road from Jatrabari to Kanchpur is eight-lane.

Metres down from the bridge, there is a junction where traffic from Sylhet joins the highway to head for the capital and some vehicles from Chattogram take a right turn towards Sylhet, halting traffic moving towards the port city.

Just 20km ahead, traffic stops at the toll plaza for single-carriageway Meghna and Gumti bridges. Standstill traffic at the bridges is all too common.

The work on around 400-metre new Kanchpur bridge was completed in December at a cost of Tk 950 crore, Nuruzzaman said.

After its inauguration, they would start restoration work on the old bridge. The new bridge is two metres wider than the old one, he added.

On Tuesday, this correspondent found the approach roads to the new Kanchpur bridge was kept blocked while work on the overpass was going on in full swing.

Several police personnel were guarding the bridges and an official involved in the construction said they handed over the bridge to the authorities on January 4.

“Now, we are just looking after the bridge before the prime minister inaugurates it.”

About the overpass at the intersection near the bridge, Nuruzzaman said the girders, built off site, would be laid on the pillars soon. “We are hopeful of completing the work by March.”

Once completed, traffic on Dhaka-Chattogram highway would use the overpass, he said.

He further said 84 percent work on the 930-metre Meghna bridge was done.

This correspondent found workers busy with work on the surface of the Meghna bridge. Besides, the work on the approach roads was also continuing.

Asphalt on about 700 metres has already been laid, said Nuruzzaman.

About 81 percent of the work on the new 1,410-metre Gumti bridge was done, he said.

The project director mentioned that the refurbishment of old Kanchpur bridge is expected to be completed before June and that of the other two may take some more time.

“However, the refurbishment of the other two bridges would not be any problem as two new four-lane bridges will be capable of taking pressure of the traffic.”

RARE INSTANCE

As per the contract, the Japanese firms started work in January 2016 but progress was halted for around four months after the Holey Artisan attack in July 2016.

The four contractors are Obayshi Corporation, Shimizu Corporation, JFE Engineer Corporation, and IHI Infra Systems Company Ltd.

The deadline was December 2019 and all work would be complete, including restoration of the old bridges, within the deadline, said Nuruzzaman.

After the feasibility study, the cost was estimated at Tk 8,487 crore, of which Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) was supposed to provide Tk 6,430 crore.

“The cost of the project will be Tk 1,000 crore less than what was estimated,” he added.

Prof Moazzem Hossain, a former director at the Accident Research Institute (ARI) of Buet, said building bridges maintaining deadline and spending less than what was estimated were definitely a rare example. “This is very positive.”

Talking to The Daily Star, he said the Japanese firms involved in the project are good at their work. “If good contractors are chosen, then you can get the job done on time because 95 percent of the work depends on the contractors.”