Over 700 law enforcers will be deployed on the Dhaka-Tangail-Bangabandhu Bridge highway to keep traffic ahead of the Eid rush under control.
In addition, CCTV cameras will be installed at strategic locations for the law enforcers to monitor the traffic.
During the holidays, nearly 37,000 vehicles commute through the route, leading to miles-long tailbacks every year.
Toll collection mishaps, unfit vehicles breaking down combined with other factors, lead to the traffic chaos.
However, this year the police have taken a different approach so that passengers do not have to suffer.
Vehicles in nearly 24 districts, mostly northbound, travel through the second biggest highway in the country.
According to police sources, 617 policemen will be on watch to keep the traffic under control. Moreover, 100 Armed Police Battalion (APBn) personnel will be on the scene.
The area from the highway’s Mirzapur to Bangabandhu Bridge’s Gol Chattar area has been divided into four sectors.
The area from Mirzapur’s Dherua overbridge to Gharinda will be sector-1, from Gharinda to Elenga Bridge will be sector-2, from Elenga to Bangabandhu Bridge sector -3 and the area from Mymensingh Link Road to Madhupur Arankhola will be sector-4.
A total of 33 picket teams will be deployed in the areas along with 33 motorcycle teams.
Traffic congestion has been a recurring issue during the holidays, especially given that nearly twice the number of vehicles pass through the highway during the holiday rush.
One of the reasons for the hold-ups has been attributed to the toll plazas which often malfunction.
Responding to queries on the matter, Bangabandhu Bridge Site Office Executive Engineer Ahsan Masud Bappi said: “Tolls will be collected at nine booths on the eastern side of Bangabandhu Bridge and another nine booths on the western end.”
He added that the tolling plazas will be active at all times and if a software malfunction occurs, the toll will be collected manually.
According to police sources, the Dhaka-Tangail-Bangabandhu Bridge highway has four lanes up to Elenga.
There are service lanes on both sides till Elenga, allowing vehicles leaving Dhaka to reach Elenga without any hassle.
On the other hand, the road from Elenga to Bangabandhu Bridge has two lanes where traffic gets stuck.
In a bid to control traffic, the Nokola Bridge in Sirajganj has been opened to the public as well as the Gorai Flyover Bridge in Tangail’s Mirzapur.
According to Superintendent of Tangail Police Mohammad Kaisar, policemen will work in three shifts from Elenga to Bangabandhu Bridge and in two shifts in the rest of the areas.
He hopes that traffic movement will remain normal unless there is a major accident.
In addition to controlling traffic, the authorities have ensured public toilets for passengers this year.
As part of an initiative taken by Elenga Municipality Mayor Nur-e-Alam Siddiqui, 25 temporary public toilets have been set up at various places along the 13-kilometer stretch of the Elenga-Bangabandhu Bridge Highway.
Taking everything into consideration, the police are hopeful that tailbacks will be rolled back at the end of Ramadan.