Dhaka-Sylhet Highway expansion lag causes travel nightmare

Saiful Islam, a Sylhet resident who works in Dhaka, left for the capital by bus on the evening of 5 April after Eid. A journey that typically takes six hours took him 14 hours.

"The road expansion work is going on, and soil, sand, and other materials are scattered everywhere. Because of the rain, the road has become muddy, and vehicles are forced to slow down to avoid accidents," he said.

Passengers and transport workers are facing similar delays and hardship on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway due to the slow progress of two major infrastructure projects intended to expand the road.

Currently, work is underway to upgrade the Dhaka-Sylhet-Tamabil highway to six lanes and the 50.58-kilometre Ashuganj-Akhaura road to four lanes.

However, both projects are progressing at a sluggish pace, leading to long traffic jams, increased travel time, and worsening road conditions.

Saiful said the traffic worsened after entering Brahmanbaria, where long tailbacks extended all the way to Dhaka.

"The vehicle would move for five minutes and then stop for half an hour," he added.

Other passengers have reported similar experiences. Traffic jams are particularly severe on the stretch from Sarail Bishwaroad in Brahmanbaria to Kanchpur in Narayanganj.

During holidays such as Eid, the congestion becomes critical, with journeys extending to 16 or 17 hours.

Delays in the two ongoing major projects 

The six-lane expansion of the Dhaka-Sylhet-Tamabil highway began in February 2023 and is expected to cost Tk30,000 crore.

Simultaneously, the Ashuganj river port to Akhaura land port project, via the Sarail Bishwaroad intersection, is being widened to four lanes at a cost of Tk5,791 crore.

Both projects have seen slow progress. In the case of the four-lane project, work was suspended for nearly three months following the change of government in August 2024.

Due to these ongoing works, even emergency road repairs have been put on hold. In several areas, vehicles are forced to use only one side of the road, worsening congestion and causing safety concerns.

According to Roads and Highways Department (RHD) data, only 15% to 16% of the six-lane project has been completed in over two years.

Debashish Roy, project manager for the Sylhet section, said, "We had complexities regarding land acquisition, which delayed the work. Now that most of those issues are resolved, progress should speed up."

Under this project, 209 kilometres from Kanchpur in Narayanganj to Sylhet are to be upgraded to six lanes, while 56.16 kilometres of the Sylhet-Tamabil highway are to be upgraded to four lanes.

The target completion date is December 2026. However, officials involved say it is unlikely to be met.

The 51-kilometre Ashuganj-Akhaura four-lane project was halted for nearly three months after the government changed in August 2024. Around 300 officials from the Indian contractor left the country, leading to uncertainty over the project's completion. Work resumed in November.

Md Shamim Ahmed, project manager of the four-lane project, said, "The work is now progressing in full swing, and almost 60% has been completed. However, the deadline may need to be extended."

Meanwhile, the road from Ashuganj to Sarail Bishwaroad—about 12.21 kilometres—is in particularly poor condition. Large potholes force vehicles to slow down to 10 km/h. According to drivers, traffic jams occur daily at the Bishwaroad intersection.

Project officials acknowledged that regular repair work has not been done on the highway because it falls within the project area. As a result, large holes have formed, especially in at least 4 kilometres of the Brahmanbaria section.

No guarantee of arrival time

Faisal Alam, a businessman who frequently travels between Sylhet and Dhaka, said bus travel on this route has become "agonising."

With train tickets sometimes hard to come by, many like him have no choice but to take the bus.

"There is no certainty when I will reach Dhaka. The buses are stuck for hours, and the roads are full of potholes," he said.

"The six-lane project has been ongoing for nearly two years, but there's hardly any visible progress. Land acquisition is not even complete. If it continues like this, it won't finish in 10 years."

He also noted that the poor road conditions have led to a rise in airfares on the Dhaka-Sylhet route.

Gauch Uddin, a driver of Mitali Bus on the Dhaka-Sylhet route, said they no longer provide an estimated arrival time.

"Earlier, we could make a round trip between Dhaka and Sylhet in one day. Now, it takes an entire day to reach Dhaka. The delays are due to broken roads, ongoing development work, and roadside shops encroaching on the highway," he said.

During a visit to the Sylhet section of the highway, expansion work was observed to be ongoing at several spots.

Bridge and culvert construction, land filling, and acquisition are taking place, reducing road width and slowing traffic. Numerous potholes and subsided sections further hinder vehicle movement.

RHD has stopped repairing the old road sections due to the ongoing project. In some places, the pitch has worn away, exposing loose stones.

The resulting poor conditions are causing more accidents and breakdowns.

However, RHD officials claim development is taking place on the roadside, not on the main carriageway.

Sylhet RHD Executive Engineer Amir Hossain said, "The highway is being newly constructed. Since it will be upgraded to six lanes, not much is being spent on the old road. Only essential repair work is being done to maintain basic traffic flow."

Until the projects are completed, however, millions of commuters on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway are left to deal with unpredictable travel times, poor road conditions, and long hours of traffic congestion.