Dhaka not ready for traffic pressure

Vehicles stuck in targeted traffic congestion on the street approaching Uttara near Dhaka airport on Wednesday. — Sony Ramany

With the opening of the a lot-awaited Padma Bridge, the targeted traffic congestion in the cash Dhaka is possible to become severer owing to a absence of arranging and initiatives, authorities officers and gurus mentioned.

The Padma Bridge is aimed at strengthening interaction concerning Dhaka and 21 south-western districts, but urban transportation system gurus say targeted traffic gridlock in and about Dhaka may well develop an impediment to accomplishing the target.

Ring roads all over the funds must have been made while constructing the bridge to cope with further targeted traffic movements in the cash, they mentioned.

Diversion of targeted traffic, they included, by ring roadways surrounding the money would have been the most powerful alternative to the new circumstance.

Bangladesh Bridge Authority has executed the 6.15-kilometre road-cum-railway bridge between Mawa level in Munshiganj and Janjira issue in Shariatpur to join the capital with the south-western districts of the region.

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the bridge on June 25 and it will be open to website traffic at 6:00am the following working day.

The autos from south-western districts will now use the Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga expressway and enter Dhaka from Jatrabari working with the Mayor Mohammed Hanif Flyover.

Roadways and Highways Division Dhaka Zone supplemental chief engineer Md Sabuj Uddin Khan instructed New Age that massive congestion could be observed at Jatrabari stage.

At the major exit position at Chankharpool there remained only two toll booths although there really should be 6 a lot more booths, he stated, introducing that targeted traffic congestion has now develop into a common scene there.

‘This condition will convert severer when the Padma Bridge will be inaugurated and the flyover can be packed till Postogola Bridge,’ he included.

Bangladesh University of Engineering Engineering professor and a previous Accident Research Institute director Md Shamsul Hoque instructed New Age that the  Padma Bridge would have a direct influence on the Dhaka visitors problem.

In Dhaka, far more individuals would now come from these districts, a lot more private and goods-laden motor vehicles would come and even some cars would cross Dhaka to use Padma Bridge rather of utilizing the Dhaka-Aricha corridor, he stated.

‘This immediate connectivity will multiply the visitors congestion in the capital,’ he explained.

Dhaka has already been grappling with weighty targeted traffic congestion though new visitors from the bridge will induce congestion at 10 gateways of the capital, which include at Buriganga Bridge, Bosila and Hanif flyover, Shamsul mentioned.

He emphasised the completion of ring roads bordering the capital.

‘These roadways need to have been concluded previously. The building of these roads  is now hard at present because of to land acquisition,’ he mentioned, including, ‘not only for the bridge but also for bypassing autos from Dhaka these streets at peripheries are extremely vital.’

The Revised Strategic Transportation Prepare for 2015 to 2035, which was approved in August 2016, envisaged separating intra-money visitors stream from inter-district site visitors by the construction of a 73km internal ring street, 108km center ring road and 129km outer ring highway passing by the capital’s flood movement zones.

The inner ring road would deliver a new route to commuters all over the capital, Teramukh-Abdullahpur-Gabtoli-Rayerbazar-Babu Bazar-Sadarghat-Fatullah-Chashara-Signboard-Shimrail-Demra-Jap Bypass and on the way stretches of it would pass by the Balu River in the east and the Burignga River in the south.

The center ring road has been planned to generate a route alongside Outpura-Dhaka Bypass-Bhulta-Kanchpur-Jhilmil-Western Bypass.

Prepared to operate along the capital’s outer periphery the outer ring road would develop a new visitors route linking Hemayetpur-Kalakandi-Madanpur-Danga-Bypail-Gazipur.

SM Salehuddin, the then government director of Dhaka Transportation Coordination Board, informed New Age that when the authorities experienced started to construct the Padma Bridge they must have also started off to get ready other infrastructures to facilitate the vehicular movement to the funds.

‘Dhaka will experience troubles from two sides – greater visitors congestion and presence of big people today coming by crossing the bridge day-to-day,’ he noticed.

Salehuddin claimed that as the bridge would reduce the journey time from 21 districts to Dhaka considerably quite a few men and women would attempt to enter Dhaka and return on the exact same working day raising the presence of men and women and autos in the money.

Salehuddin, who is also one particular of the consultants of the Bus Route Rationalisation committee, recommended the design of inner and outer ring roadways immediately to bypass the strain of autos from Dhaka.

Permission for cars to enter the money, taking care of the selection of goods-carrying vans coming from other districts and ban on opening any new sector, workplaces and instructional establishments in Dhaka and moving diverse services to other districts may well assistance, he additional.

Jahangirnagar College city and regional planning professor Akter Mahmud explained that when the bridge would be inaugurated the quantity of vehicles coming from south-western districts would improve for Dhaka and its adjacent districts.

Akter, also a former president of the Bangladesh Institute of Planners, stated that the federal government must construct inner and particularly the center ring streets quickly to bypass the motor vehicles.

He mentioned that once the 4-lane up-gradation is effective on the Dhaka-Aricha freeway had been concluded strain on motor vehicles would enhance further in the money.

Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority govt director Neelima Akhter reported that they experienced proposed developing ring streets in the Revised Strategic Transportation Program even though no investigation or feasibility scientific tests ended up done to his conclusion so significantly.

The Streets and Highways Section was doing the job with the inner ring highway but till now no funding supply was confirmed, she stated.

‘We are going to maintain a assembly with all stakeholders on June 19 to explore the transportation procedure, targeted visitors diversion and planning following the Padma Bridge inauguration,’ Neelima mentioned.

Roadways and Highways Division Dhaka Zone further chief engineer Md Sabuj Uddin Khan claimed that they had finished a feasibility review to build the inner ring street in 2017.

Because then RHD begun to glimpse for funds from donor companies but until now no donor agency agreed to finance the project, he reported.

RHD extra secretary Md Yousub Ali Mollah reported that a meeting of the road transportation and bridges ministry on June 9 directed the division to fix the connecting streets close to Dhaka to bypass the site visitors.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s supplemental commissioner for site visitors, Md Munibur Rahman, said that they had some plans to handle the traffic that would come via Padma Bridge.

They would divert the Chattogram-sure motor vehicles through Postogola Bridge and then to a connecting road in the direction of Narayanganj by way of Pagla, he reported.

During peak hrs, he explained, they would divert Motijheel/Ramna-bound autos by streets at Doyaganj below the Mayor Hanif Flyover.

The flyover would have the autos towards unique directions like Nimtoli, Gabtoli, Motijheel and Bishwa Highway, he continued.

Items-laden cars would operate during off-peak hours by way of the town although they would also allow some inter-district buses to cross the metropolis throughout these hours, he claimed.

The more commissioner hoped that when an under-building bridge on the river Sitalaykhya would be accomplished the tension on Dhaka would lessen.

Munibur, having said that, added that they had no program to enhance manpower at Jatrabari point to deal with extra site visitors.