Partial opening of Dhaka Elevated Expressway tomorrow 

The Dhaka Elevated Expressway's 11.5-km section from the Airport’s Kawla area to Farmgate via Tejgaon is ready to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday.

Project authorities said they have completed work including six toll plazas and ramps to provide smooth traffic flow. Different types of vehicles have already plied the expressway as a test run for the purpose.

Marking the inauguration, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will attend a rally at the old trade fair ground in Agargaon. The expressway, however, will allow vehicular movement on Sunday morning.

The authorities have set the speed limit at 60km per hour, while bicycles, motorbikes and CNG-run autorickshaws will not be allowed on the expressway.

Thirteen out of 15 ramps from Kawla to Farmgate will be opened for traffic as two ramps at Banani and Mohakhali have yet to be completed. “These will be opened soon after completion,” said Project Director AHM Shakhawat Akhtar.

The government, meanwhile, fixed the toll rates for the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport-Farmgate section ranging from Tk 80 to Tk 400. The Italian-Thai Development Public Company Ltd will collect tolls from the vehicles depending on categories. It will keep collecting tolls for 25 years.

Bridges Division Secretary Md Monjur Hossain told reporters recently that there would be at least four lanes at the toll plazas. All ramps have enough spaces so that entry and exit points can ensure smooth movement of traffic, he added.  

Project Director Shakhawat said they will form a company that will be tasked with the responsibility of the maintenance of the expressway round the clock. The entire expressway will be monitored for 24 hours through CCTV cameras.  

Earlier, Road, Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader hoped that if the first phase of the expressway – from Kawla to Farmgate – is opened, traffic congestion will be eased to a large extent.

The total length of the elevated expressway is 46.73km, including 19.73km of the main elevated part. There are 31 ramps of 27km length at different places.

The Dhaka Elevated Expressway will cover Kawla, Kuril, Banani, Mohakhali, Tejgaon, Moghbazar, Kamalapur, Sayedabad, and Jatrabari to Kutubkhali on the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway.

The construction of the expressway was inaugurated in June 2011 for smooth traffic from the north part to the south of Dhaka city. The project was scheduled to be completed in 2016 under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP).

The deadline for completion of the construction has been delayed five times due to various complications, including changes in design, land acquisition, and financial issues.

In the beginning, the cost of construction was estimated at Tk 8,703 crore. In 2013, it increased to Tk 8,940 crore. Then the duration of the project increased with the slow pace of the work.

Finally, the cost of the project has increased to over Tk 16,000 crore.