Multimodal pedestrian underpass planned in Dhaka Airport area

The government is planning to construct a modern and multimodal underpass near the roundabout before Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. It will facilitate passengers and pedestrians in safely reaching bus, air and rail stations across Airport Road.

The proposed 1,070-metre-long underpass will have nine entry and exit points at Hajj camp, Ashkona, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) station, Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station, airport railway station, airport terminals 1, 2, 3 and airport North and South gates.

According to the development project proposal, the cost of this project will be Tk1183.87 crore, proposed to be borne by government funds. The construction will begin in the current financial year with a target of completing the work within the next two years.

The airport roundabout is one of the busiest points in the capital with a railway station and several bus and metro stations located around it. Hundreds of thousands of passengers cross the road every day amid risks as there is only one footbridge in the area. 

Airport Road, which is linked to the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway via Gazipur, sees heavy traffic on a regular basis. Gridlocks and accidents often occur when a large number of passengers or pedestrians try to cross the road.

Once completed, this underpass is expected to reduce gridlocks and accidents.

As per the proposal of the Roads and Highways Department (RHD), the underpass will be 100% air-conditioned. There will be eight lifts, 28 escalators, and 25 travelators to help passengers reach their desired destinations.

Md Ishaque, chief engineer of RHD, said, "By using the underpass, people in the Hajj camp can directly reach the airport terminal. In addition, passengers can access the MRT (Metrorail) station from the airport terminal. Those using BRT transport can cross the road through the underpass. The underpass will be considered a multimodal hub."

He also said this is the first time an initiative has been taken to build this type of underpass with passenger service travelators.

A travelator, also known as a moving walkway, is a horizontal conveyor system used to transport people across short to medium distances, usually in commercial or public settings such as airports, train stations or shopping centres.

The Project Evaluation Committee (PEC) meeting on the proposal is scheduled to be held at the Planning Commission on Thursday. 

If the Commission approves the project proposal, it will be presented to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) for final approval, said officials of the Planning Commission.

The Roads and Highways Department and the 24 Engineer Construction Brigade of the Bangladesh Army will jointly implement the project. 

According to the project proposal, the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway is an important road connecting 32 districts of Bangladesh. 

Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport is on one side of this busy highway and the Airport Railway Station is on the opposite side. The under-construction Airport Terminal 3, MRT Line 1, Dhaka Ashulia Expressway and BRT projects have boosted the activity of the region.

Currently, about 14,777 pedestrians and passengers cross the highway every hour through a lone foot overbridge, which is inadequate compared to the requirement.

Passenger pressure in this area will increase manifold in the future and the underpass will facilitate a large number of the 3,60,000 passengers to cross the road per day.

According to sources at the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, the construction of a main pedestrian tunnel has been proposed in the recent master plan of Hazrat Shahjalal Airport.

A feasibility study was conducted from 2017 to 2019 before this master plan. According to the study, the airport will transport 2.2 million passengers by 2035.

Officials of the Roads and Highways Department said in 2018 Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina proposed to construct an underpass from Shahjalal Airport to Airport Railway Station.

On 20 February 2019, the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges constituted a committee to finalise the pedestrian underpass alignment.

The committee revisited and finalised the alignment on 24 February 2019. In March 2019, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism approved the use of land to construct the underpass.

According to Roads and Highways officials, when the design of the underpass was presented to the prime minister recently, she agreed to it.

According to the project proposal, half of the main cost of the project will be spent on the construction of tunnel infrastructure.