A person has been killed after a bus rammed into a static private car on the Dhaka Elevated Expressway. The incident took place at around 7pm on Monday (Jan 8) at Nakhalpara, Tejgaon Industrial zone police’s Sub-Inspector Mizanur Rahman said. He said the private car was heading towards Farmgate. On the way, one of its tyres was punctured, forcing the vehicle to stop on the expressway.   Later, a bus coming from behind hit the private car. The driver and passenger of the private car were injured. They were taken to Kurmitola General Hospital where the driver was pronounced dead. The identity of the victim could not be known yet.  

The Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) has been started their bus services on Elevated Expressway. Total 8 double-decker buses are hit the express. Earlier today, ABM Aman Ullah Nuri, Secretary of Road Transport and Highways Division inaugurated the service at Manik Mia Avenue at 11:00am. According to the secretary, buses will ply from 7:30am to night every day depending on passengers' demand. Fare of the buses The per km fare comes to Tk 2.45. The fare from Khejur Bagan to the Airport is Tk 35 for 15 km and the fare for 17 km to Jasimuddin has been set at Tk 40. However, the toll for buses on the expressway has been set at Tk 160, but the toll is not included yet. 

Bangaldesh Road transport Corporation (BRTC) will be started their bus services on the Elevated Expressway. The service will be started from Khejurbagan stoppage near Farmgate, after end of the trip from Jashimuddin road, Uttara to Kaola, Gazipur, again buses will stop in Khejurbazar. The services will be started from Monday, September 18. A total of 8 buses will be run on the expressway at first, then the number of buses will be increased on demand.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurates the much-awaited elevated expressway's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport-Farmgate section for traffic on Saturday, 3.30 pm. The expressway would be opened to people and vehicular traffic from 6:00am on September 3, said a public circular issued by the road transport and bridges ministry on Friday.   Dhaka Elevated Expressway: What are the toll rates Ahead of the Inaugutaion, Road, Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader announced the toll rates.  However, tolls will be collected from vehicles plying the expressway in four categories.  Private cars, microbuses (Under 16 seats) and mini-trucks (Under 3 tonnes) will have to pay Tk 80, medium-sized trucks (up to 6 wheels) and large trucks with more than 6 wheels will pay Tk 320 and Tk 400 respectively. All buses and minibuses with 16 or more seats will have to pay Tk 160 to ply the Kawla-Farmgate section of the Dhaka Elevated Expressway.  The authorities have set the speed limit at 60 km and it will take 10 minutes for a vehicle with a speed of up to 60 km per hour to reach Farmgate from Kawla. The elevated expressway will serve as an alternative north-south route. It will connect Hemayetpur-Kadamtali-Nimtoli-Sirajdikhan-Madanganj-Dhaka-Chattogram Highway-Madanpur directly. Which Vehicles are not allowed in Dhaka Elevated Expressway? Vehicles including motorcycles, bicycles and three-wheelers will not able to take the Dhaka Elevated Expressway.  Traffic, cars, buses, minibuses, microbuses, small, medium and big trucks can be used in Elevated Expressway.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the much-awaited elevated expressway's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport-Farmgate section for traffic today.   "The Prime Minister will inaugurate the expressway at a programme to be held at the old trade fair ground at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar here at 3.30pm tomorrow," project director of Dhaka Elevated Expressway AHMS Akter said this. The airport-Farmgate section will be opened to traffic the next day of the inauguration, the official added.   He said the length of this section is about 11.5 km. There are 15 ramps for boarding. Out of these, two ramps at Banani and Mohakhali will remain closed for the time being. The maximum speed limit for traffic on the expressway will be 60 km per hour. Three wheelers, bicycles and pedestrians will not be allowed to move on the expressway, while motorbikes cannot run on it right now. Earlier, the road transport and bridges ministry fixed the toll rates for the Dhaka Elevated Expressway's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport-Farmgate section ranging from Taka 80 to Taka 400. Under category 1, the toll rate for car, taxi, jeep, sports utility vehicle, microbus (under 16 seats) and light truck (under 3 tonnes) for crossing the airport-Farmgate section from any point is Taka 80. The toll rate for medium truck (up to six wheels) for crossing the route from any point is Taka 320 under category 2. Under category 3, the toll rate for truck (over six wheels) for crossing the route from any point is Taka 400. The toll rate for any bus (16 seated or above) for crossing the route from any point is Taka 160 under category 4. The total length of the elevated expressway is 46.73km covering Kawla, Kuril, Banani, Mohakhali, Tejgaon, Moghbazar, Kamalapur, Sayedabad, Jatrabari to Kutubkhali on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway. Initially, the speed limit on the expressway will be 60km per hour and vehicles need 10 minutes to travel the 11km distance from the HSIA to Farmgate. With an 11.5km mainline and 11km ramp, the length of the part will be 22.5km. Initially, 13 out of 15 ramps in this part will be opened. The ramps at Banani and Mohakhali will be opened once their construction is complete. The total expenditure of the project is estimated at Taka 8,940 crore, while the viability gap funding is Taka 2,413 crore, which will be provided by Bangladesh government. The First Dhaka Elevated Expressway (FDEE) Company Ltd is the investor company. Italian Thai Development Public Company Ltd has 51 percent shares, China Shandong International Economic and Technical Co-operation Group (CSI) holds 34 percent while Sinohydro Corporation Ltd 15 percent shares. As per the project, the first contract was signed on January 19, 2011 and the reviewed agreement was signed December 15, 2013 and the project completion period was July 2011-June 2024. Construction of the second phase Banani Railway Station to Moghbazar Railway Crossing is progressing fast. In the last 15 years, several infrastructure projects have been initiated in Bangladesh. Considering the size, budget, and economic impact, many of these projects have been termed mega-projects.  The government has also identified a few of them as fast-track projects. Among these, the Padma Multipurpose Bridge, Bangladesh's first metro rail project MRT Line-6 and Chandra-Elenga four-lane highway were completed.   Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel, the first and longest underwater road tunnel in South Asia, is expected to be ready for traffic soon.   The other projects-Padma bridge rail link, Chattogram-Cox's Bazar rail link, Rooppur nuclear power plant, Matarbari 1200MW coal-fired power plant, the Payra deep sea port, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Railway Bridge on the river Jamuna are extremely crucial to the country's economic growth and hence the key focus of the government now is their timely completion. After the Awami League government came to power in 2009, it took up several monumental development projects with the view to transforming the country's communication, transport and power infrastructure. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government has introduced modern transport system Dhaka Metro Rail partially and opened the Padma Multipurpose Bridge and other mega projects.

Bangladesh's first Elevated Expressway will be inaugurated in September, aiming to reduce traffic congestion in the capital city, Dhaka.  Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the Elevated Expressway. On Saturday morning, July 08, Obaidul Quader, Minister of Road Transport and Bridges, informed about the progress of the construction work of the Dhaka Elevated Expressway in the the Kawla area adjacent to adjacent to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. Obaidul Quader said, "The Dhaka Elevated Expressway from the Airport to Farmgate part will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in September. When the entire project is completed, it will significantly reduce traffic congestion in the Dhaka city. Additionally, it will have a positive impact on the economy." Minister of Road Transport and Bridges further mentioned, "The construction of the Elevated Expressway is being carried out in three phases. 97% construction work of first section from Airport to Banani and 54% work from Banani to Moghbazar has been completed. . Similarly, the last part visible work from Moghbazar to Kutubkhali has started." He added, "So far, the whole project's 63% work has been completed. Once the entire project is completed, the Elevated Expressway will be connected to the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway (Kutubkhali) and integrate with the capital city Dhaka."

The ministerial committee for economic and government purchase has decided to cancel Dhaka-Chattogram Expressway Construction Project and also decided to expand the existing four-lane highway. The decision has been taken in the meeting of the ministerial committee for economic and government purchase virtually presided over by Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Sunday. After the meeting at a press conference Additional Secretary Shamsul Arefin said, the proposal of cancelling the Dhaka-Chattogram expressway project was approved in principle. The project based on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) is not going to be implemented. Instead of that the existing four-lane highway will be expanded and it will be constructed by the government itself. He said, highways across the country will be upgraded to four-lanes as well as service lines will be constructed. It is the key decision of the government. Why the project has been cancelled after expenditure of one hundred crore taka? While answering this question raised by the newsmen, he said, that was a feasibility study, so the money had not been wasted. The proposal of expressway construction project was approved in principle in the meeting of CCEA on March 13, 2013 under public-private partnership method. Aftermath, under the feasibility study the detail design was formulated. AH  

The government has taken initiatives to turn Dhaka-Joydevpur-Mymensingh road into 10-lane. If it is constructed then it will be the first international quality expressway in the country. The cabinet has approved a proposal in this regard which will cost 3,353 crore taka. Korea Overseas and Development Corporation will implement the construction work of the expressway under Public Private Partnership (PPP). The proposal was approved in a virtual meeting of the finance committee presided over by Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Wednesday. Later the minister informed the newsmen about the matter. The Finance Minister said, approval of ‘Improvement Dhaka-Joydevpur-Mymensingh road into expressway with service both sides’ has been given. A South Korean company will construct the road. He said, the existing road comprises four lanes and it will be widened. We have found good company. They with help of the government will perform the road widen activities. AHM Mustafa Kamal said, the Korean company will bear all the expenses. The primary cost is fixed at 3,353 crore taka and the government will not spend any money for that. Because, the existing four lane road was constructed by the government. The extended road will be attached to the existing road. But the government will bear the cost of 280 crore taka for rehabilitation and 100 crore taka for utility services. The Koprean company will bear the rest 3,353 crore taka. According to the Roads and Highways Directorate sources, if the 87.18 kilometers four-lane road between Joydevpur and Mymensingh is turned into 10-lane then it would take one and half hours to reach Mymensingh from Dhaka. There will be emergency lane for running security vehicles, ambulance and VIP vehicles. Underpass and U-turns will be constructed after 2 to 3 kilometers distances. There will also be some interchange link roads. AH

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today inaugurated the country’s first-ever expressway on Jatrabari-Mawa- Panchchar-Bhanga route to traffic, opening up a new era in the communication sector on the eve of the Mujib Year. “This is the country’s first-ever access controlled expressway,” she said opening the newly-constructed the world class expressway under the Dhaka-Khulna Highway Project through a video-conference from her official Ganabhaban residence in the capital on Thursday morning. She said vehicles could go straight to destinations without any interruption as there would be no traffic signal while side lines were constructed along the expressway for low speed vehicles for the movement of people in the neighborhood. She Hasina recalled that in 1981 it required one 24 hours to reach Gopalganj from Dhaka by steamer but the expressway will curtail the travel time significantly smoothening journey as well. Officials familiar with the project said with the construction of the expressway Dhaka-Gopalganj travel time would take some three hours while after the completion of the Padma Bridge it was expected to be reduced to a little over two hours. The premier said the expressway would boost the country’s socio-economic development and increase the living standard of the people of the southern region. She said her government was tirelessly working for the development of communication system since her party assumed office in 1996 as this basic infrastructure is a must for socio-economic development of any country,. Since Awami League’s return to the power in 2009, Sheikh Hasina said, her government kept a constant focus on the overall development of the roads, railways, waterways and airways. She said her government was currently constructing the Padma Bridge on one of world’s mightiest rivers with own finance after successfully facing the false corruption allegations involving the project by the World Bank. The Canadian court in its verdict also said that no corruption was committed in the Padma Bridge project. “The decision of constructing the Padma Bridge with our own finance has increased our image in the international arena,” she said. The premier extended her gratitude to army and the people concerned for constructing the expressway and expressed her desire to go to Gopalganj using the expressway by this month. She said her government constructed 25 bridges in southwestern Khulna, Barishal and Gopalgang and urged all to take care of the bridges while using the structures. 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 journey of the people of 22 southwestern districts. The international standard eight-lane expressway having four-lane main expressway and four service lanes for plying low speed vehicles will connect the country’s southwestern part with the capital which will save travel time and facilitate smooth and uninterrupted vehicles movement. According to the project details, the expressway has five flyovers, 19 underpasses, four railway overpasses, 25 bridges, four main bridges, 54 culverts, and two inter-changes which will contribute to the national economy by boosting trade and commerce in the country. The 25 bridges were constructed in Khulna-Barishal-Gopalganj zone under the Western Bangladesh Bridge Improvement Project. It has two parts stretching 35-kilometre long from Jatrabari intersection to Mawa and 20-kilometre long from Pancchar to Bhanga. The 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. 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 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 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 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. 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 Maligram. 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. The premier also opened the eight kilometers long six-lane approach road under the third Karnaphuli bridge (Shah Amanat Bridge) project. The road was constructed under the supervision of the Roads and Highways Division at a cost of around Taka 397 crore. Under the bridge project, four six-lane bridges, eight culverts (one six-lane and seven four-lane), two overpasses, eight kilometer-long flexible pavements and 11 kilometers footpath and drainage system have been constructed. About the eight kilometers long six-lane approach road under the third Karnaphuli Bridge (Shah Amanat Bridge) Project, she said that it would make easier the communication between Chattogram and Dhaka. A documentary on the benefits of constructing the overpasses was also screened. At the function, the Prime Minister exchanged views with beneficiaries and stakeholders of the project through the videoconference. Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader and Chief of Army Staff General Aziz Ahmed spoke on the occasion. Railways Minister Md. Nurul Islam Sujan, PM’s Political Adviser HT Imam, State Minister for Women and Children Affair Fazilatun Nessa Indira were present. PM’s Principal Secretary Dr Ahmad Kaikaus moderated the function while Secretary of Road Transport and Highways Division Md. Nazrul Islam gave a brief presentation of the expressway. Among others, Principal Coordinator on the SDGs Affairs at the Prime Minister’s Office Zuena Aziz, PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim and PMO Secretary Md Tofazzal Hossain Miah were present on the occasion. Source: BSS AH