4 more bridges planned over Buriganga

The government is planning to build four more bridges over the Buriganga with an aim to ease traffic congestion at the southern exit-entry points of the capital.

Three of the bridges will be built right next to the existing three over the river, while the other will be built near Narayanganj's Fatullah.

The move was initiated as gridlocks at the entry-exit points of the capital's south had worsened due to additional traffic since the Padma Bridge opened last year.

However, environmentalists have said low-height and short-length bridges over rivers around Dhaka are killing the water bodies and this new move can deteriorate the situation unless proper social and environmental assessments are done before executing the projects. 

The Roads and Highways Department, which is currently conducting studies for two bridges, however, said they will build the bridges with "longer spans" considering the river's navigability.

The three existing bridges over the Buriganga are at Postogola, Babubazar area and Basila respectively. They connect the main part of the capital with the growing townships at the other end of the river and also the Dhaka-Mawa Expressway.

Shishir Kanti Routh, additional chief engineer (bridge management wing) of the RHD, said the country will not get the full benefit from the Padma Bridge unless the capital's exit-entry points are congestion-free.

"The three existing bridges cannot deal with the growing traffic and so, new ones need to be built", he told this correspondent recently.

He added that Dhaka city is expanding on the southern side of the Buriganga, and more bridges are required for better communication for the people on both sides.

"The government has a plan to build three circular roads around the capital and the new bridges are required for better integration among the upcoming projects."

Moreover, Pangaon Inland Container Terminal in Keraniganj will be connected with the capital with one of the four new bridges, he said.

However, speaking to The Daily Star recently, Sharif Jamil, coordinator of Waterkeepers Bangladesh, a non-government organisation working to protect water bodies, said "unplanned projects" have been killing rivers across the country.

"Different implementing agencies constructed low-height and short bridges and they proved to be the main reason behind the death of rivers."

He said the government had decided to break down low-height bridges over the rivers around the capital but the decision was not implemented.

"Now, the government is planning to build more bridges over the Buriganga."

He further said, "The government must prioritise rivers over such projects, and the RHD must conduct proper social and environmental studies and consider all stakeholders' opinions before taking up projects centring rivers."

Countering the concerns, Shishir Kanti said that as per their preliminary designs, two of the bridges will not have any pier inside the river while the other two will have only two piers each.

"So, in terms of obstructing water flow, the bridges won't do much of it."

WHERE THE BRIDGES WILL BE

RHD has almost completed feasibility study for two of the four bridges, said Mohammad Najmol Haque, RHD's superintendent engineer (Narayanganj Circle).

He said the existing bridge at Postagola had been partially damaged since June 2020 when a salvage ship hit it and it is not enough to cope with the growing traffic pressure.

"So, a new four-lane bridge will be constructed on the right side [following Dhaka-Mawa route] of the existing bridge."

He added that there would be an intersection with elevated sections in Hasnabad area for proper traffic management.

"Another bridge will be built at Fatullah's Konda area to facilitate the Pangaon Inlan Container Terminal."

He added that once that bridge is constructed, vehicles from the Dhaka-Mawa expressway can go directly to Dhaka-Chattogram highway without entering the capital.

Another bridge would be constructed on the right side of Babubazar bridge, following the Dhaka-Mawa direction, said Sabuj Uddin Khan, RHDs' additional chief engineer (Dhaka zone).

He said that as an elevated ramp from Dhaka-Mawa Expressway ends in Kadamtali area, they were planning to connect the new bridge with the elevated section.

RHD sources said a proposal for studying the bridge's feasibility was sent to the RHD's Chief Engineer Office for approval.

The department is planning to build the fourth bridge beside the Basila Bridge, formally known as Martyred Intellectuals Bridge.

It was built at a cost of Tk 84.09 crore and opened to traffic in December 2009. However, it does not have necessary vertical clearance.

In July 2021, State Minister for Planning Shamsul Alam said the "faulty" bridge will be broken down.

However, an RHD engineer said they were considering two options -- to construct a new four-lane bridge and tear down the exiting one, or to increase the height of the existing bridge, whicg would be very costly.

A study will soon start in this regard, he said.