A step towards easing traffic woes

Fouzderhat-Bayezid Link Road, after being inaugurated on November 14, has become an important bypass road in Chattogram.

Chattogram Development Authority implemented the project at a cost of Tk 353 crore to ease traffic congestion in the port city and to provide an easy route for Dhaka-bound vehicles to exit Chattogram.

The six-kilometre bypass road, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has been named Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Sarak, said Asad Bin Anwar, assistant engineer of CDA and the project director.

This road allows vehicles from Dhaka to move towards Rangamati and Khagrachhari without entering Chattogram. Similarly, vehicles from the two CHT districts can move towards the Chattogram-Dhaka highway without entering the port city, he added.

The west end of the road begins in Sitakunda's Fouzdarhat area, while the east end starts in the city's Bayezid Bostami area.

Asad Haider, a resident of the city's Sher Shah area, said he commutes to Sitakunda every day for business purposes. "Earlier, to get to work, I had to pass through gate-2 of Sholshahar and take the GEC intersection, which took two hours. Now, it takes 30-40 minutes to travel using this road," he said.

According to CDA sources, this project was undertaken in 1996 at a cost of Tk 40 crore. But the implementation repeatedly stumbled. Afterwards, on November 5, 2013, the project was initiated again.

Following this, in 2016, the cost was estimated at around Tk 320 crore. Then, in August last year, the project cost increased to Tk 353 crore, of which Tk 33 crore was ordered to be paid from CDA's own funds by the Ministry of Finance. So, CDA decided to collect tolls from this road.

However, the toll rate is yet to be fixed. Vehicles can move on this road without payment until the rate is finalised, Asad said.