Staff Reporter/ Gazipur Correspondent :
Motorists and commuters have been facing immense sufferings due to the delayed construction works of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Line-3 project that battered the existing road and caused severe traffic congestion.
The project for an extended 20.5km rapid bus service for mass transport between Gazipur and Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) was taken up in November 2012 for completion by December 2016.
The four-year project tenure has been extended to eight years.
The initial project cost for the construction was Tk 2,040 crore. But the cost went up almost doubled to Tk 4,268.3 crore due to delay in its implementation.
The project which is being jointly funded by the government, the Asian Development Bank, the French Development Agency and the Global Environment Facility — got delayed due to various problems including changes in work scope and design, waterlogging in the project areas between Tongi and Joydebpur, officials said. The Roads and Highways Department (RHD), the Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA), and the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) are implementing the BRT project under four packages. “So far, progress of the project is 65 per cent,” ASM Elias Shah, Project Director for the segment being implemented by the RHD, told The New Nation yesterday.
He hoped the BRT service from Dhaka to Gazipur would be opened in December 2022.
When asked, ASM Elias Shah said, “We have increased the pace of the project work considering the sufferings of the commuters. Bringing more pace is possible provided the sincerity of the contractor works.”
Meanwhile, a 12km portion of the Dhaka-Gazipur Highway that stretches from Tongi Bridge to Joydevpur is considered very dangerous to traverse on because of their dilapidated conditions.
Besides, massive potholes developed on the roads, causing damage to vehicles and presenting a potential safety hazard for the commuters.
“We have to negotiate numerous potholes while driving on the road. The battered road is causing serious damage to vehicles and increasing fuel consumption,” Md Akram, a bus driver, told The New Nation yesterday.
He said the travel time has also increased significantly due to the dilapidated condition of the road. “Now it is taking five hours to reach Joydevpur intersection from Dhaka whereas it took one and half hours before. The authorities should mitigate the persistent concern for motorists by completing the project as soon as possible.”
While visiting the project site, it was seen that the construction materials and box span were lying in the middle of the Dhaka- Gazipur Road. Besides, the construction of the pillars of bridge is going on.
Two service lanes have been provided in the bridge area for Dhaka-Gazipur route. There is a 10 lane modern bridge in line with the 4.5 km elevated road from Tongi Bridge to Cherag Ali. Infrastructure work is also underway to build an escalator to climb the bridge.
