Friday, June 7, 2019

Ongoing Projects to Resolve Traffic Congestion in Dhaka


The capital city Dhaka is one of the most densely populated cities not only in Bangladesh but also in the whole world. At present the population of the city is more than 17 million. More than 44 thousand people live in every square kilometer in Dhaka city. Although the capacity of existing roads is for 0.3 million vehicles but according to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) the number of registered vehicles is 0.9 million in Dhaka.

Traffic congestion has become a part in the city. To resolve this issue many initiatives have been taken by the Government to make Dhaka city a better place. In view of this, the government has approved a revised Strategic Transport Plan (RSTP) in the FY 2014-15. It has been proposed to construct five subway rail routes, two fast bus routes and one thousand 200 kilometers new roads.

Based on the info, six elevated expressways and three ring roads are included under the road network. In the next 20 years these projects will be implemented, the total expenditure will be about BD Taka 351,000 Crore. Meanwhile some initiatives of RSTP have been implemented already.

However, many of the people of Dhaka city have seen the spheres of these ongoing projects. It is such situations that some people think that all are the work of the Metro Rail project. In fact, many projects on different routes are being implemented in Dhaka. At present following special projects are implementing in the capital city.

Metro Rail – MR Line 6:
The Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit (MRT-6) route or Metro Rail project is being implemented. Started from the Uttara third phase to Motijheel via Mirpur, Agargaon, Farmgate, Shahbag, Press Club, the total length of the MRT line will be 20 km.


Among the route first phase of 10 km from Uttara to Agargaon will be completely opened in 2021. At present the average progress of the MRT-6 is about 24.66 percent. And in the first phase, the total progress from Uttara to Agargaon is 40.58 percent.


Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route:
It will take 20 minutes to reach 20.50 kilometers from the Airport Railway Station to Joydebpur Chaurasta, Gazipur using this BRT line. Work has already started under the 'Greater Dhaka Sustainable Urban Transport' project. 20 percent work is already completed. Project Implementing Authority is Road and Highways Department (RHD).


Under this project Road widening, Service roads and three kilometer drainage in Gazipur area, eight-lane Tongi Bridge and flyover will be constructed. However, the construction work of 20.50 km separate bus route was not implemented yet, it’s in first phase. 5 to 10 percent of flyovers, 68 percent of the bus depot work have been completed.


Dhaka Elevated Expressway (Flyover):
Construction of the Dhaka Elevated Expressway (Flyover) is the government's biggest project to speed up the traffic congestion in the capital which is progressing at a faster pace. This Expressway will be 26 km long from Kawla near Airport Road to Kutubakhali near Shanir Akhra on Dhaka-Chittagong highway.


The routes of the project are Shahjalal International Airport – Kuril – Banani – Mohakhali – Tejgaon – Moghbazar – Kamalapur – Sayedabad – Jatrabari - Dhaka Chittagong Highway (Kutubakhali). It will take 20 minutes to reach Kutubakhali from the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. In the first phase, the Expressway will start from the Airport to Banani and will open in this year. The length of the route will be 7.45 kilometers.


Flyover from ECB Square to Kalshi:
The construction work is going on fast from Kalshi Road from the premises of Mirpur ECB. Many people think that this may be the metro rail route. In fact, the government has taken an initiative to construct a new flyover from the ECB Chattar to Kalshi border in Mirpur, Dhaka.


Its total length will be around 844.11 meter. The road is also being expanded along with the flyover. It will improve road communication between Mirpur, Pallabi, Dhaka Cantonment, Uttara, Mohakhali and Rampura.

According to the RSTP, at present there are several development projects running in Dhaka city. The traffic congestion will not be resolved with just one metro rail. So elevated expressway, flyovers and road widening along the Metro Rail is also ongoing.


One project is related to another. The traffic congestion will be free only when all projects are completed. The government is implementing all the projects as planned. We all are waiting to see our new Dhaka.

Thanks.


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