Third Shitalakhya Bridge to boost country’s economy

The six-lane 3rd Shitalakhya Bridge, inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday, connects Narayanganj with the district’s Bandar upazila.

The bridge is expected to boost the economy of Chattogram region and southwestern districts, easing communication between these two parts of the country via the Padma Bridge.

Using the 1.29-kilometre bridge, named after Freedom Fighter AKM Nasim Osman, Chattogram region-bound vehicles coming from the country’s southwestern region, and vice-versa, will be able to avoid traffic congestions and save time bypassing Narayanganj city, said Shoaib Ahmed, the project director of the bridge.

The country’s economy will get boosted significantly as it will reduce the travel time between Chattogram region and southwestern part of the country, he also said.

The bridge will connect Madanganaj of Bandar upazila to the east with Syedpur of Narayanganj Sadar upazila to the west. Now motor-run boats are a key communication mode for the people on both sides of the Shitalakhya.

Garment worker Rekha, a resident of Madanganj, said that she crosses the river every morning by boat to reach her workplace. “Boats often collide with large ships causing the death of passengers as plying of commercial ships has increased a lot in recent times,” she said.

Crossing the river by boat has become a frightening event for passengers and during monsoon, it is more terrifying, Rekha said, hoping that crossing the river will be easier from now as the bridge has been inaugurated.

Bandar upazila resident and cultural personality Rois Mukul said besides the benefit of the locals, the bridge is more significant from the national perspective.

“Now, vehicles from the southwestern region use the Jatrabari route in Dhaka via Postogola Bridge to go to the Chattogram region or use Chashara and Signboard route to reach their destinations,” he said, adding, “But after the opening of the Shitalakhya Bridge, vehicles will get rid of the severe traffic congestion on the long way stretching from Postogola Bridge to Narayanganj city. Traffic jam is a usual phenomenon at different points of this long route, including Jatrabari intersection, Shanir Akhra, Signboard, Panchabati BSCIC industrial area, Panchabati intersection, Chattogram road and Chashara intersection.”

From now on, the vehicles will be able to bypass Dhaka as well as Narayanganj city. Moreover, the traffic pressure on the capital and Narayanganj city will also be reduced, he hoped.

Shoaib Ahmed said the construction cost of the bridge was Tk 608.56 crore, with Tk 263.36 crore from the Bangladesh government and Tk 345.20 crore from the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD).

The bridge, with walkways on both sides, has 38 spans — five in the river and 33 on the east and west ends. The width of the bridge along with walkways is 22.15 metres.

The Shitalakhya River separates Narayanganj’s Bandar and Sonargoan upazilas from the district headquarters. There was no road connection between the two upazilas and the district headquarters. Earlier, locals from these two upazilas had to use the Kanchpur Bridge (the first Shitalakhya Bridge) to go to the district headquarters, travelling 30km of roundabout way to pass only 3-5km distance.

Deputy Commissioner Manjurul Hafiz said after the inauguration, the bridge will be opened for all kinds of vehicles including trucks at night.

Member of Parliament of Narayanganj-4 Constituency AKM Shamim Osman said the construction of the bridge was a long-standing demand of the people of Narayanganj.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has turned the dream into reality, he added.