If the highway renovation work in Sirajganj is not completed soon, there are chances of massive traffic jam, and homebound Eid holiday makers would have to endure extreme difficulties. As construction work on the highway continues, district police have identified 14 high-risk areas. Proposals have been submitted to the authorities concerned for the renovation of 20 bridges spanning about 51 km of the Chandaikona highway from the west side of the Bangabandhu Bridge to Hatikumrul. There is risk of severe traffic congestion at the 14 high-risk points. Every year before Eid, all the vehicles carrying homebound commuters pass through the Bangabandhu Bridge-West Highway. As a result, there is extra pressure on this highway. Read More: Advance sale of train tickets for Eid travellers starts Friday It is expected that the roads on this route will be repaired by the second week of this month. Bus and truck drivers, in particular, say that if the work on the highway is completed, there will be relief during Eid journey. People of 16 districts of north Bangladesh use this highway to go home from Dhaka during Eid. Every day, 16,000 to 20,000 vehicles use this highway, and during Eid, 30,000 to 40,000 vehicles ply it. Work is underway to widen and repair the four-lane highway – connecting the west side of the Bangabandhu Bridge. It has already caused traffic congestion and slow movement on the highway. Besides, the north lane of the newly constructed Nalka Bridge has been opened, but the Dhaka-facing lane has been closed. Traffic is moving through the risky old bridge. The contractor, Akhter JV Project’s Manager Ekhlas Uddin said that discussions have already been held with the Sirajganj Superintendent of Police. Read More: Special train service on Joyedbpur-Panchagarh route for RMG workers for Eid: BR On the highway, potholes will be repaired soon. New four-lane roads have been opened in different parts of the highway. Officials of the local Roads and Highways Department said the renovation work on the risky points on the highway has been supervised. Badrul Kabir, officer-in-charge of Hatikumrul Highway Police Station, said two rounds of discussions were held among the district police, officials of SASEC-2, and officials of the contractor company. They have assured to complete the repair work soon. On the occasion of Eid, 10 mobile teams and 16 picket teams will work on the highway. In addition, mikes and digital sign will be installed. Sirajganj Traffic Inspector (Administration) Salekuzzaman Khan said they spoke to the district police regarding ensuring smooth flow of traffic before Eid. There will be 15 to 18 mobile teams on the highway. Work has already started to ease the traffic congestion. Senior police officials mentioned that arrangements have been made to make the Eid journey of the homebound people uninterrupted. Read More: Eid journey: Nat’l Committee demands bike ban on highways for 9 days

A long tailback formed on Bangabandhu Bridge east link road in Tangail Friday due to the additional number of Dhaka-bound vehicles and holidaymakers, who were returning to the capital and workplaces after a long vacation. The crush of additional vehicle traffic towards Dhaka from northern districts caused the gridlock, triggering a 35km tailback stretching from Bangabandhu Bridge to Tangail's Karatia, Ataur Rahman, in-charge of Elenga Highway Police, said. Till the filing of this report at around 10:30pm hundreds of vehicles packed with passengers were seen moving very slowly, causing immense suffering to Dhaka-bound people. Also, women and children were seen returning to the capital in trucks.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday said she had to redo the design of the 6.15-km Padma Bridge to increase its length keeping in mind the characteristics of the mighty river. The PM said she redesigned the bridge afresh since the feasibility report found differences in the depth of the mighty Padma River at different locations in the bridge project site. Also read:Quader: BNP misinterprets PM’s Padma Bridge remarks about Khaleda “I didn’t let to keep any loopholes. Though it has taken time, I changed the design,” she said addressing the first meeting of Delta Governance Council, held at her office here in the city. She said the flows and bottom-soil of the rivers including Jamuna and Padma change after every rainy season in the country. Since the condition in Bangladesh is not the same as in other countries, it’ll have to take plans properly keeping this difference in mind.  “I didn't allow making the Padma Bridge smaller. We’ve constructed the bridge keeping buffer zones with the river. So, the bridge has become the longest one (in the country),” she said. Hasina said those who designed the Bangabandhu Bridge (the bridge over the Jamuna) at its current length had been wrong. “But I think it was a wrong decision to reduce the bridge over Jamuna to a 4 kilometres one. Since its design and plan were made earlier, we had nothing more to do there. I had been able to include only the rail line in it,” she said. She said when Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had gone on visit to Japan, he discussed with the Japanese government about the construction of a bridge over the Jamuna River. Japan then sent a team in 1974 to conduct a feasibility study over it.  

A 15- kilometre long tailback formed on the west side of Bangabandhu Bridge in Sirajganj as commuters headed home ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr on Friday. Massive traffic jams were witnessed from Bangabandhu Bridge Gorchatbar area to Nalka intersection as a truck broke down at Balukol area of Kamarkhand upazila, said Mosaddek Hossain, officer-in-charge (OC) of Bangabandhu Bridge West Police Station. Read: Roads better than ever, BNP lost their way: Obaidul Quader The quick response team of the police rushed to the spot and removed the broken truck and the traffic got normal in the afternoon, he added. The OC also mentioned that about 600 policemen are on duty to reduce traffic congestion on the district highways.

A survey is underway to assess the feasibility of building a tunnel alongside Bangabandhu Bridge as an alternative passage under the Jamuna River, said State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury. Talking to reporters at the secretariat on Wednesday during an event organized by Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters Forum (BSRF), he said an alternative passage along the Bangabandhu Bridge is needed. “A feasibility study is underway. If its results are found to be positive, then the country's second tunnel after the Karnaphuli one will be built there,” he said. Read Karnaphuli Tunnel Project makes "breakthrough" amid Covid-19 About the encroached lands along the river banks, he said, “We want to give some time to the industrial establishments on the river banks as they’ve made huge investments there. Government lands have been demarcated while notices have been issued to the encroachers in this regard.” To secure 10,000 kilometers of waterways, illegal establishments have been removed from nearby rivers, the state minister said, adding that 3,000 kilometers of waterways have already been secured.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday laid the foundation stone of a 4.8km double-line dual-gauge Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Railway Bridge aimed at boosting rail communication between the capital and Western zones of the Railway.

Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan on Wednesday said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will officially lay the foundation stone of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Railway Bridge over the Jamuna River on November 29.