Home-goers may encounter severe traffic jam on both sides of Bangabandhu Bridge during Eid journey

The Bangabandhu Bridge on the River Jamuna is considered as the gateway to sixteen northern and six south-western districts of the country. But a recent undergoing construction work of a link road in Sirajganj may cause a serious traffic congestion on both sides of the bridge during Eid holidays. This link road bridge has been planned to connect Tangail and Sirajganj districts, whose eastern part is at Ibrahimabad of Tangail’s Bhuapur upazila and the western end in Sayedabad area of Sirajganj Sadar upazila.
The authorities, though assured that the work of the undergoing construction would be finished before the Eid rush begins. Uncertainties are mounting among the home-goers of the concerned regions of northern and south western sides. Thus, Eid holiday makers heading for northern districts and in some south-western districts, might get caught in gridlocks on both sides of the Bangabandhu Bridge due to the expansion work on a 25km stretch of the Elenga-Rangpur Highway. Passengers and transport operators have started, saying that they are already experiencing gridlocks due to the construction work. But the new situation might worsen during the upcoming Eid holidays.
Of course, the government has undertaken the upgrade of the 190km highway to dual carriageway, as part of the development work in the interest of the public. But, practically, the undergoing road expansion works, that fall on the stretch between Bangabandhu bridge’s west end and Hatikumrul intersection in Sirajganj for better connecting Sirajganj’s Nolka area, has already slowed the movement of vehicles, causing tailbacks on both sides of the bridge.
There is no doubt, traffic will skyrocket as more vehicles hit the road ahead of Eid holidays next week, and again on the journey back post Eid. On average, some 18,000 to 20,000 vehicles of varied types use the bridge, but the numbers go up to 50,000 to 60,000 during Eid rush, highway police assumed. The bus drivers also believe that a 25-km trip that usually takes around an hour may extend up to five or six hours.
In consideration of mounting concern, government functionaries and relevant authorities at the trouble trapped points have to be more vigilant to ease any potential sufferings of Eid travelers around Bangabandhu Bridge.