Congestion around Bangabandhu Bridge: Gridlocks await northbound Eid journey
Eid holidaymakers heading for northern districts might get caught in gridlocks on both sides of the Bangabandhu bridge due to the expansion work on a 25km stretch of the Elenga-Rangpur highway.
The government is upgrading the 190km highway to dual carriageway. As part of the development work, road expansion works is underway on the stretch between Bangabandhu bridge's west end and Hatikumrul intersection in Sirajganj.
Also, the construction work of a bridge is going on in Sirajganj's Nolka area.
Slow movement of vehicles is already causing tailbacks on both sides of the Bangabandhu bridge. The situation could worsen further if more vehicles hit the highway ahead of the Eid holidays by the end of next week, which is almost certain to happen, said transport operators.
The Bangabandhu bridge on the Jamuna is considered the gateway to 16 northern districts. Besides, vehicles heading for six southern districts also use this bridge.
On an average day, some 18,000 to 20,000 vehicles use the bridge. The number goes up to 50,000 to 60,000 during Eid rush, according to highway police.
The bridge connects Tangail and Sirajganj districts. Its eastern part is at Ibrahimabad of Tangail's Bhuapur upazila and the western end in Sayedabad area of Sirajganj Sadar upazila.
Passengers and transport operators said they are already experiencing gridlocks due to the construction work. The situation might worsen during the Eid holidays.
Bus driver Masud Rana said, "We used to travel the 25km distance in around an hour. But the journey now takes us around five to six hours."
Md Alauddin, another bus driver, said they cannot even imagine how terrible the traffic situation would be during the Eid rush.
According to passengers and transport operators, when a gridlock is created on the west end of the Bangabandhu bridge, it impacts traffic at the eastern end.
They said if vehicles cannot move on the west zone highway, the authorities stop vehicles from getting on the bridge at the eastern end. As a result, long tailbacks are created on the highway in Tangail.
Amid such a situation, the highway police are taking special measures to control traffic during the holidays.
"We have identified 26 spots on the 25km stretch of the highway. Additional policemen will be deployed there to ensure smooth movement of traffic," said Md Lutfor Rahman, officer-in-charge of Hatikumrul Highway Police Station.
Md Didarul Alam Tarafdar, executive engineer of Roads and Highways Department (RHD) in Sirajganj, said the highway expansion work would continue for around six more months.
"Of the four lanes, construction of one has already been completed up to the Nolka bridge point. We will open the newly constructed lane ahead of the Eid to ease people's sufferings," he told The Daily Star yesterday.
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