With the much-awaited Padma Bridge expected to drastically cut down travel time between southern parts of the country and Dhaka, entry points to the capital could face severe traffic bottlenecks due to the increased number of vehicles.
Experts said the number of vehicles on the Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga expressway is likely to double within a few years of the bridge's inauguration, while the Dhaka-Aricha route will lose its appeal by 40% owing to the expressway’s shorter route.
Inbound vehicles, following a smooth journey on the Dhaka-Mawa Expressway, will be stuck in a bottleneck at two entry points to the capital—Jatrabari and Babubazar – adding extra hours to travel time for the next four to five years at least.
To avoid the long tailback, the government had planned an outer ring road to divert the other district-bound vehicles before the entry points so that they would not need to enter the capital.
In the Strategic Transport Plan for Dhaka (RSTP), developing the southern part of the ring road as the bypass from the Padma Bridge to Chittagong to reduce the through traffic to urban areas was a top priority.
However, the construction of the road is far from being started while the Padma Bridge is expected to be opened to traffic soon.
The government has just finished the feasibility study and drafted a design. As it will be a totally new road, the authorities will need to acquire public land now. The Japanese government will start construction once the land is ready.
Officials have blamed the Covid-19 pandemic for the delay in work on the project, though in the RSTP it was clearly mentioned that the southern part has to be constructed along with the Padma Bridge in order to derive full benefits from it.
Although the pandemic did not affect the ongoing projects, the construction of the outer ring road did not come to fruition at that time, they claimed.
A 48km road is the solution but delayed
The proposed 48km road will start from Hemayetpur and merge with Mawa Expressway at Kalakandi in Keraniganj. From Kalakandi, it will go to the Third Shitalakhya Bridge approach to Syedpur and Madanpur, connecting N5, N8, and N1.
Vehicles heading to other districts can take these roads and avoid entering the capital after getting off from Padma Bride.
Of the 48 kilometers, a 12-kilometer road — from the 3rd Shitalakhya Bridge approach to Madanpur – already exists but it will need further development.
“The new 36km-long-alignment will run from Hemayetpur via Kalakandi to the 3rd Shitalakhya Bridge approach. We need to construct this missing link,” said Md Sabuj Uddin Khan, additional chief engineer, Roads and Highways Department (RHD).
From Madanpur, there is a Dhaka bypass road that goes to Gazipur’s Kodda, which is a part of the outer ring road as well and construction of this four-lane expressway is already going on. Another part of the ring road – from Hemayetpur to Nabinagar to Baipayl to Chandra – is also a part of the ring road which already exists.
“So, out of 132km of the outer ring road, we need to construct and develop just 48km to divert traffic around the city,” he explains.
The new 36km road will be constructed by Japan on a government-to-government (G2G) basis. It will first construct an 18km road from Kalakandi to the 3rd Shitalakhya approach. The rest of the portion will be constructed in phases.
The RHD will develop the 12km existing part—from the 3rd Shitalakhya to Madanpur. The 3rd Shitalakhya Bridge is now under construction. It may take six more months to be completed. Construction of roads from the bridge to Kodda is already going on. This will take three more years.
The overall southern part of the outer ring road will cost Tk13,000 crore, including land acquisition compensation for landowners. Of the budget, Tk11,000 core will be spent on the new road and land acquisition while the RHD will spend Tk2,000 for developing the 12-kilometer road.
There will be a giant intersection at Madanpur with double flyover and loops.
Construction of new road may start in 2 years
RHD officials said that development work was halted for more than two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The feasibility study has been completed already and now Japanese engineers are scrutinizing the plan. The land acquisition process will start soon. While this process is ongoing, Japan will complete the construction of the bridge there, just beside Muktarpur Bridge that connects Narayanganj and Munshiganj,” Additional Chief Engineer Md Sabuj Uddin Khan told Dhaka Tribune.
The government has primarily estimated that the land acquisition process will take two years and the road construction will take two more. This can be lengthier.
Govt working on an ad-hoc solution
As the southern part of the outer ring road will be delayed, the government is now concentrating on developing some existing roads for better internal networking to increase capacity, including Postagola-Chashara and Gabtoli-Sadarghat roads. The Gabtoli Bridge will be developed to eight lanes in this connection.
“This will help ease gridlocks as vehicles can be diverted there,” said the RHD official.
The authorities fear that the main traffic gridlock will begin from Jatrabari. From Equria, the traffic will move to Postagola and Babubazar. Roads and small bridges in Babubazar will be repaired so that vehicles can move to Gabtoli.
From Postogola Bridge to Chashara roads will be revamped as well. From Jatrabari’s signboard, roads toward Chittagong will be developed to six-lane ones.
Babubazar Bridge will be used for travel to the western side of the city -- Gabtoli, Dhanmondi, and Kallyanpur. Roads will be widened from the bridge. All vegetable markets and Badamtoli fruit markets may be shifted elsewhere.
There are also local roads at Keraniganj which will be developed so that vehicles can go through Bosila as well.
“The main idea is to have vehicular movements scattered. Bosila Bridge, Babu Bazar Bridge and Postogola Bridge will share loads of vehicles entering Dhaka,” he said.
According to a recent government study, currently, 8,000-12,000 vehicles use the Dhaka-Mawa Expressway every day. The numbers will increase to approximately 25,000 a day when the Padma Bridge opens. They are expected to go up to 45,000 per day in ten years’ time.
