300-feet expressway needs to be excavated for MRT-1: DMTCL

Many spots on the 300-feet Purbachal Expressway will need to be excavated for the construction of the Mass Rapid Transit-1 (MRT-1) line, the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) has said.

The MRT-1 project has two parts - underground metro rail and elevated metro rail.

The elevated MRT-1 line will begin from Kuril Flyover on the west and end at Kanchan Bridge on the east, DMTCL said in a press statement on Wednesday (19 February).

The viaduct will consist of spans placed at regular intervals, with each span ranging from 30 to 45 meters in length. These spans will be constructed on the road divider at the center of the expressway.

DMTCL said the vehicular movement on the expressway will not be affected during the construction of the elevated MRT-1 line as the viaducts will be erected on the road divider.

The metro rail stations will be built on three columns across the expressway. The decision to the construction of elevated MRT-1 line has been taken after proper inspection, according to DMTCL. 

The route alignment of MRT-1 was proposed in the Revised Strategic Transport Plan (RSTP) in 2015, with a feasibility study conducted in 2017-18 based on this plan. However, the RSTP did not include any plans for the construction of Purbachal Expressway, according to the press release.

DMTCL further mentioned that the detailed design of the MRT-1 line was presented at an inter-project meeting chaired by the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) chairman on 20 September 2021.

The 300-foot expressway contains five intersections that house water reservoirs. 

Rajuk initially proposed constructing the metro rail pillars first, followed by the reservoirs. However, Detex, the consultant hired by Rajuk for the highway, advised that the reservoirs should be built first, with the metro rail pillars constructed afterward, the release added.