The government is still undecided about how to overcome the problem with the Dhaka-Chittagong corridor's two busy intersections that pose big barriers to uninterrupted traffic.
Though a move was taken recently to construct a flyover at one intersection, no decision could be taken about the remaining two.
Sources said the plan was drawn up to construct a flyover at Mohipal under the Dhaka-Chittagong four-lane project to avoid gridlock as the traffic increases at the point because of its connection with a number of business hubs, namely Feni, Choumohoni and Luxmipur.
But two other busy intersections at Moinamati and Comilla on the Dhaka-Chittagong corridor, however, remained overlooked, they added.
Though the project was revised on four occasions due to extension of the project duration and inclusion of new components, the problem relating to the two intersections was not addressed.
Even midway through implementation of the Tk 32 billion project, construction of a flyover at Mohipal and an overpass at Patuabazar were included in it, but the project skipped solution to the traffic problem at the Comilla-Luxmipur intersection of the four-lane route, it was alleged.
"Comilla-Luxmipur intersection sees a rush of traffic from Luxmipur district through Noakhali on one side and from Chandpur on the other side," said an official once involved with the project.
He said when the plan was taken to construct an overpass at Patuabazar under the project, it could solve the intersection problem at Comilla by extending the overpass length to half a kilometre.
The Moinamati intersection which sees rush of traffic from the Brahmanbaria-Sylhet road also remained totally untouched.
Official sources said the Dhaka-Chittagong four-lane project was the first of its kind that tried to provide different types of solutions to highways through introducing grade separation, flyover, overpass and bypass construction for uninterrupted traffic.
They, however, admitted that those were done in an isolated way at different stages of the project.
The Dhaka-Chittagong four-lane project was initiated in 2005-06 to turn the country's prime artery into a four-lane one for accommodating increased traffic through the country's economic lifeline that connects the capital with the main port city.
The project finally progressed to the implementation stage after 2010 after facing different procurement-related problems and the four-lane work was awarded to three firms - one Chinese and two local.
But at one stage, the Roads and Highways Department (RHD), the implementing agency of the four-lane project, took up another project to construct four bridges and three overpasses on the corridor.
These were Iliotganj bridge, overpass at Comilla level crossing and Feni level crossing, bridges at Lalpur, Lemua, Muhuri and Dhumghat and a 31.93 metres overpass at Chittagong level crossing.
Project Director Ibne Alam Hasan said construction of flyovers on other intersections under the Dhaka Chittagong four-lane project could not be taken to avoid increase in project cost as it has already gone through changes for a number of times.
"This project has gone through several revisions to upgrade the main corridor maintaining standard. So it was not possible to incorporate further changes in the project," he told the FE.
He, however, said there is still scope to take more projects to provide solution to the problems facing the corridor.
Sources said in the latest change, the department is constructing a 28.60-metre long bridge at Iliotganj and overpass (344.175-metres) at the Comilla level crossing and another overpass (86.442 metres) at the Feni level crossing on the Dhaka-Chittagong four-lane highway involving over Tk 2.13 billion.
Besides, construction work a 21-kilometre-long road at the Comilla bypass at a cost of over Tk 1.7 billion, and 19.916-kilometre road from Mohipal Bazar to Dhumghat bridge of Feni at a cost of over Tk 1.55 billion and a 15.667-kilometre road from Dhumghat to Mirersharai Bazar involving Tk 1.69 billion on the Dhaka-Chittagong four-lane highway was also taken up recently.
The latest revision of the Dhaka-Chittagong four-lane project, however, excluded the Mohipal flyover construction from the main project. RHD officials said the new project was taken to widen the flyover into a six-lane one and increase the length to avoid a bazaar close to the intersection.
Sources said the Mohipal flyover project was given to the Bangladesh Army on deposition to construct it at Tk 1.58 billion and Executive Committee of the National Economic Council approved the project on May 5 last.
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