Highway works may trigger Eid gridlock on Dhaka-Sylhet route in Brahmanbaria

Ongoing road expansion and repair works on the Brahmanbaria stretch of the Dhaka-Sylhet highway may trigger fresh traffic congestion during the upcoming Eid rush, officials and transport stakeholders warn. The situation is particularly concerning at the Ashuganj and Sarail Bishwa Road roundabouts where construction work continues.

The highway from Ashuganj river port to Akhaura land port, stretching about 50.58 kms, has been under a four-lane expansion project since February 2020. Later, a decision was made to upgrade the highway to six lanes. Accordingly, around 11.5 kms between Ashuganj and Sarail Bishwa Road was redesigned to match the six-lane structure.

However, design revisions, funding complexities and political changes slowed the progress of the project.

Shamim Ahmed, project manager (Package–2) of the Ashuganj-Tantor four-lane highway construction project, said about 62 percent of the work has been completed so far. Of the 11.5 km stretch between Ashuganj roundabout and Sarail Bishwa Road, four-lane construction has already been finished on around seven kms.

He said efforts are underway to complete key works at the Ashuganj and Bishwa Road roundabouts before Eid-ul-Fitr to ease traffic movement.

“At Ashuganj roundabout, construction of one culvert has already been completed while another is still underway. To facilitate Eid travel, we plan to temporarily widen a Dhaka-bound lane so vehicles can move more smoothly,” he said.

The issue was also raised at a recent district road safety committee meeting. Leaders of local transport owners’ associations said traffic congestion is already occurring between Bishwa Road and Kuttapara area, warning that conditions could worsen during Eid if urgent repairs are not carried out at Bishwa Road and Tantor bus stand area in Akhaura upazila.

Project officials said they are trying to complete several urgent tasks at the two roundabouts before Eid to ease traffic movement.

However, officials said fuel shortages could disrupt construction activities. The project requires around 12,000 to 15,000 litres of diesel daily, and an additional 12,000 to 13,000 litres when the bituminous plant is in operation.

Traffic congestion on the Brahmanbaria stretch of the Dhaka-Sylhet highway is not new. Narrow road sections, potholes and weak traffic management frequently trigger long tailbacks. At times, traffic queues stretch between 20 and 40 kms.

In October last year, then road transport and bridges adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan got stuck in severe traffic while visiting the area to inspect the highway conditions. At one stage, he had to leave his vehicle and travel several kilometres on a motorcycle to reach Bishwa Road.

Locals say that although some temporary repairs were carried out following the visit, long-term improvements have yet to materialise.

Traffic police say they are preparing to manage the expected pressure on the highway. Md Jahangir Alam, officer-in-charge of Khatihata Highway Police Station, said necessary measures will be taken to ensure smooth Eid travel.

Contacted, Mohammad Zahirul Islam, executive engineer of Brahmanbaria Roads and Highways Department, said work on the Brahmanbaria section of the Dhaka-Sylhet highway is currently being carried out under an ongoing project.

“If a flyover is constructed, it will be implemented under the same project. However, we do not have any information regarding it at the moment,” he said.

Notably, the project is being implemented by an Indian contractor with joint financing from the Bangladesh government and an Indian line of credit — at an initial cost of Tk 5,791 crore, under three separate packages.

However, during a bilateral meeting between Bangladesh and India in March last year, the third package of the project — involving construction of an 11.3 km four-lane road from Tantor to the Akhaura Land Port — was dropped. The remaining two packages are currently being implemented at a revised cost of Tk 5,134 crore. The project is scheduled to run until June 2027.