Persistent rainfall over the past several days has created potholes in parts of the Dhaka-Sylhet Highway, causing a 20km tailback in the Brahmanbaria section, reports bdnews24.com.
The congestion began on Friday, stretching from Ashuganj roundabout to Shahbazpur via Sarail Bishwa Road.
As a result, scores of vehicles have been stuck for hours on the highway, much to the dismay of commuters.
Transport drivers say the ongoing construction work to expand the road to four lanes has narrowed the highway. Large potholes have formed at the Ashuganj and Bishwa Road intersections, and poor traffic management at these thoroughfares has made the situation worse, according to them.
Work on upgrading the highway from Ashuganj river port to Akhaura land port to a four-lane road has been ongoing for six years. Although one side of the road is complete, it has not been fully opened to traffic, forcing vehicles to use the narrower side.
Drivers and passengers say that the persistent rain has left potholes in many sections, where vehicles frequently get stuck, resulting in lengthy traffic jams. A journey that would normally take one hour can now take up to four hours. Many vehicles are also sustaining damage due to the state of the road.
Bus passenger Advocate Zubayer Rahman said, "A group of us was travelling from Habiganj to Dhaka, but due to the traffic jam, we won't be able to make our meeting on time."
Another passenger, Muslima Akter, said: "I boarded a local Diganta bus from Chandura in Bijoynagar to see a doctor in Brahmanbaria. But we've been stuck in Shahbazpur for two hours. The bus isn't moving. I ended up walking part of the way, took an auto-rickshaw, and then walked again to get to Bishwaroad."
Sarail-Khatihata Highway Police Station chief Mamunur Rahman said the Ashuganj and Bishwa Road intersections are strewn with potholes over three feet deep. Vehicles are being forced to slow down from 70kph to just 5kph to weave their way through them. Some trucks are also taking up to 20 minutes to cross a single junction, making the traffic jam inevitable.
