PM to open country’s first-ever expressway tomorrow

The country’s communication sector is set to
enter into a new era on the eve of “Mujib Borsho” (Mujib Year) as its first-
ever expressway on Jatrabari-Mawa-Bhanga route will be opened to traffic
tomorrow.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will formally inaugurate the newly-
constructed expressway through a videoconference from her official Ganabhaban
residence here tomorrow.

The 55-km long expressway having all the modern facilities was constructed
aiming to reduce travel time as well as to ensure smooth and comfortable
the journey of the people of 22 southwestern districts.

Officials familiar with the project said the international standard
expressway having two service lanes will connect the country’s southwestern
part with the capital.

“It’s an amazing expressway, which will save travel time and facilitate
smooth and uninterrupted vehicles movement”, a local transport driver told
BSS.

According to the project details, the expressway has five flyovers, 19
underpasses as well as some 100 bridges and culverts, which will contribute
to the national economy by boosting trade and commerce in the country.

It has two parts stretching 35-kilometer long from Jatrabari intersection
to Mawa and 20-kilometer long from Pancchar to Bhanga.

The world standard expressway is expected to contribute significantly to
the overall development of the entire Khulna and Barishal divisions and a
part of Dhaka division as it will strengthen connectivity between the Dhaka
city and the country’s Southwestern part, officials said.

People from 22 districts of the country’s southwestern region including six
districts in Barishal division, 10 districts in Khulna division and six
districts in the Dhaka division will directly be benefited from this expressway.

The two parts of the modern expressway will be connected through the 6.15-
kilometer-long Padma Bridge, which is now under construction.

The four-kilometer of the main structure of the country’s longest Padma
The bridge has already been visible after the installation of its 26th span on
Tuesday.

The government has a plan to open the long-awaited bridge to traffic by
June 2021.

When the construction works of Padma Bridge will be completed, it will take
hardly one hour to get to and from Bhanga to Dhaka.

The expressway has been constructed on Dhaka-Khulna highway with an
the estimated cost of Tk 11003.90 crore taking the growing traffic volume into
consideration for the next 20 years on this highway.

The Roads and Highways Department and Bangladesh Army jointly started the
implementation of the expressway project in four districts –Dhaka,
Munshiganj, Madaripur, and Faridpur– back in 2016.

The scheme was completed three months before the stipulated time frame of
June 2020.

Now the expressway is going to be opened for traffic on the eve of the
Mujib Borsha (Mujib Year) celebration which will begin on March 17, marking
the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman.

Two service lanes have been kept on both sides of the expressway for local
and slow-moving vehicles so that speedy vehicles can ply the road
uninterruptedly and thus cut down the travel time for long-distance
travelers.

There is a 2.3-km Kadamtali-Babu Bazaar Link Road Flyover among five flyovers
under the expressway project. Other four flyovers are in Abdullahpur,
Srinagar, Puliabazar and Milgram.

The expressway has four railway over-bridges in Zurain, Kuchiamora,
Shrinagar and Atadi, and four large bridges that included 363-metre
Dhaleswari-1, 591-metre Dhaleswari-2, 466-metre Arial Khan and 136-metre
Kumar bridge.

Visiting the Jatrabari-Mawa part of the expressway yesterday, this BSS
correspondent found that the workers were giving the final touch to the world-
class highway on the eve of the formal opening.

Mohammad Masud, the owner of roadside Nirala Restaurant near Mawa, said now
it takes 30-40 minutes instead of the previous two hours to travel to Dhaka from
Mawa due to the expressway.

“The buses and trucks can move speedily as there is no traffic congestion
on the expressway,” he said, adding that earlier it took 30 to 60 minutes to
cross the Postagola railway crossing, but now it takes just only a few seconds.

“The people especially patients can easily avail quality healthcare
services from the capital in a short time as the travel time will decrease
for the expressway. Many people now want to build houses and other
establishments in our area due to rapid communication advancement,” he said,
hoping that his area would turn into a tourist spot.

Arif Chowdhury, a British Bangladeshi citizen who is currently in Dhaka has
visited the expressway.

“It’s amazing. I can’t believe it. It seems to me that I am somewhere in
the UK. The quality and beauty of this expressway gives me a proud feeling,”
he said.

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said the government, led
by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, is working sincerely to make the country a
developed one, as Bangladesh is going to achieve middle-income status.