U-turns ease gridlocks on Tejgaon-Uttara road

Highlights:

• The DNCC took up a project to build 10 U-turns to eliminate traffic congestion caused by signals on the road from Tejgaon to Uttara.

• So far 3 U-turns have been completed. 

  Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

• On Sunday 3 more U-turns will be launched.

• After opening all the U-turns, time to travel from Tejgaon to Uttara will shorten by at least 70%.

• Around 70% of work in the project is completed.

• The authority concerned hopes to open all U-turns by March-April next year.

• Initially, the project cost was estimated at Tk24.83 crore. 

• The revised project cost was Tk31.81 crore.

Arif Hossain, a resident of Nikunja in the city, commutes on his motorcycle to and from the Bashundhara residential area, where his office is located. 

Previously, he would need to go up to the airport every day to cross the road in order to reach his destination. But since a U-turn was opened at the Kawla area, midway down the road from Nikunja to the airport, he can commute in much less time now. 

The Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) has taken up the project to build 10 U-turns to eliminate traffic congestion caused by signals on the road from Satrasta intersection in Tejgaon to House Building area in Uttara.

So far, three U-turns on Jashimuddin Road and Rapid Action Battalion-1 Office in Uttara and in the Kawla area have been completed. On 20 December three more U-loops will be launched.

The DNCC officials said after opening all the U-turns, the travel time from Tejgaon to Uttara will shorten by at least 70%.

The U-turns to be opened on Sunday (20 December) are located at Chairman Bari of Banani, and at Nabisco and BG Press of Tejgaon. The U-turn will be opened on the day without any formality, said Khandaker Mahbub Alam, project director and executive engineer of DNCC.

Six months still remain for the tenure of the project, but the DNCC had hoped to finish constructing all the U-turns by December this year. However, four of the 10 U-turns cannot be launched this year as much remains to be done, said sources at the DNCC.

These U-turns are under construction midway between Banani Graveyard area and Kakoli Intersection, below the Banani overpass, Amtoli Mor and Mohakhali Bus Terminal area. 

Project Director Khandaker Mahbub Alam told The Business Standard, "Around 70% of work on the project has been completed. We hope to open all the U-turns by March-April next year."

Commuters from Satrasta area in Tejgaon to Jashimuddin Road in Uttara typically face severe congestion due to too many traffic signals. However, the benefits of the three U-turns already opened on this road have already become visible. The gridlocks at Jashimuddin Road have eased because vehicles can move unhindered on the road free of traffic signals. 

DNCC officials said after completing all the U-turns, the number of traffic signals will be reduced more as vehicles will be able to cross roads by using the U-turns.

The late DNCC Mayor Anisul Huq had announced the U-turn project in 2016, to ensure that vehicles could ply from Tejgaon to Uttara without any interruption caused by traffic signals. 

Sources at the DNCC said the project work started on 4 November, 2017, but it was halted after the untimely death of former DNCC mayor Annisul Huq, and then again started at full speed after a gap. 

Chief Engineer of DNCC Brig Gen Md Amirul Islam told TBS, "There were also some complications regarding the project. The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) barred us from demolishing some establishments that belonged to them. So, we had to make some corrections in the project. "

"The problem was resolved after discussions with the RHD and arranging compensation in the revised project," he added. 

Initially, the project cost was estimated at Tk24.83 crore. However, the cost of the revised project went up to Tk31.81 crore. 

Primarily there were 11 U-turns in the project, but the U-turn at the Army Golf Club area was dropped from the project due to some objections.