Dhaka Elevated Expressway will work as the magic wand to solve the traffic jam problem of the capital. To finish the construction works of the first elevated expressway of the country within the scheduled time, all the related parties engaged in constructions have been working tirelessly.

The 95% of the construction works of its first phase (from Kawla to Banani) has been completed.  The task of carpeting on the roads of first phase from airport to Banani is going on. If the task of setting up barrier and lampposts is completed, then this phase will be fully prepared. The authority aimed to open this phase of expressway as soon as possible.

Director of the project AHM Sakhawat Akter told The Bangladesh Pratidin, “The work of the Dhaka Elevated Expressway is going on very fast. The pace of work has increased more than ever. I hope to finish the work within the scheduled time. When this expressway is completed, it will take 15-20 minutes from the airport to Chittagong Road. At the same time, traffic congestion in Dhaka will be greatly reduced.”

Already the main work has been completed. Progress is 5 percent. Finishing work of last moment is moving fast. The second phase is underway from Banani Railway Station to Moghbazar rail crossing. The work of this part is 5 percent. Piling work is underway from Magbazar to Kutubkhali. So far more than 5 piling work have been done. The two columns have already been completed. The official also said that a four-lane elevated expressway is being constructed under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) to ease the movement of vehicles around the capital. The total length of this expressway is 5.75 km, which has 3 ramps. The government has taken the elevated expressway project to connect the Dhaka-Chittagong highway (Kutubkhali) to relieve traffic congestion to the capital.

From the field visit, it has been found that the road connecting to the Banani is yet to be completed. The task of setting barrier is underway in the Banani phase. The lamppost has not yet been set up. The ramp is finished in the Kuril phase. Toll plaza, control room and office buildings have been constructed. The lamppost has also been set up and the construction of toll plaza is underway in the airport phase. Already two toll plaza is visible. At the same time, the construction of the Toll Plaza lagoon administrative building has also been visible. Carpeting and setting up two-sided barrier are yet to be completed in the area of the elevated expressway through the airport. The main road from the airport to Banani is completed and the finishing work is underway for carpeting of the expressway. At the same time, the construction of pipe for drainage is yet to be completed. From the airport to Banani, the site barrier and middling barrier work is almost finished. The work of last moments is underway.

This reporter talked to construction worker Saddam Hossain. He said, “As the construction work of expressway is going on in full swing, we, the labors, are working now in two shifts. One shift is from 8am to 7 pm, while another shift is from 7pm to midnight. All types of works including finishing, lighting, carpeting are going on.”

According to the sources, the project was supposed to be implemented from July 25 to December 25. The cost of the original project was estimated at Tk 3,216 crore and 87 lakh. Later, the project was extended until December 25, keeping the project cost unchanged. Due to the increase in the existing elemnts or cost of the project, the cost of the project increased to Tk 4, 888 crore. At the same time, the time was extended until December 2020. For the second time, the project was amended to increase the time and cost by increasing the schedule of the work to June 2021. The cost of construction of the flyover up to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport-Kuril-Banani-Mahakhali-Tejgaon-Magbazar-Kamalapur-Saidabad-Jatrabari-Dhaka-Chittagong Highway (Kutubkhali) has been estimated at Tk 8,940 crore.

@The report was published in Bengali on print and online versions of The Bangladesh Pratidin on February 28 and rewritten in English by Lutful Hoque