The Bangabandhu Bridge authorities have collected a whopping Tk3.14 crore toll in the 24 hours to Sunday at around 6am ahead of the Eid holiday.
During this time, a total of 43,257 vehicles of different sorts have crossed the bridge connecting the northern part of the country with the capital.
Between 6am on Saturday and 6am on Sunday, a total of 16,254 Dhaka-bound vehicles passed through the bridge, resulting in Tk1,30,24,250 toll collection.
On the other hand, 26,096 northbound vehicles crossed the bridge, paying a total of Tk1,84,59,200 in tolls.
According to sources, a total of 10,637 buses and 8,174 motorcycles crossed the bridge in the last 24 hours.
15-km long tailback on highway
Meanwhile, a 15-km long queue of vehicles has been formed on the Dhaka-Tangail-Bangabandhu Bridge Highway due to the increasing pressure of homebound people.
A long tailback of vehicles was observed around the roundabout area of the road connecting Elenga Bangabandhu Bridge in Kalihati Upazila and Bangabandhu Bridge to Pauli in Kalihati.
Atoar Rahman, in-charge of the Elenga highway police outpost, said the extra pressure of traffic was due to the start of holidays at garment factories and other private offices.
The Dhaka-Tangail-Bangabandhu Bridge Highway is the second-largest in the country.
This highway is the only means of communication by road between the northern districts of the country and Dhaka. Vehicles from at least 23 to 24 districts use this road.
Ahsan Masud Bappi, executive engineer, at the Bangabandhu Bridge site office, said vehicles are moving through nine booths on the east and west bank of Bangabandhu Bridge.
“We are trying to keep our toll plaza active all the time. If there is a problem with the software, the toll will be collected manually,” he said.
Authorities have been collecting tolls since the bridge was opened in 1997. Currently, the toll of the bridge is being collected by the Commuter System Network (CNS).
