Over 10 years of official efforts to upgrade the country's important highways to four-lane ones have hardly made any headway, leaving long-route journeys ever more risky for frequent tragedies.
By official count, only four per cent road infrastructures are now four-lane traffic routes.
Officials said the present percentage could climb to eight if Dhaka-Chittagong and Dhaka-Mymensingh four-lane projects could be completed in time.
Due to delays in completing the two main highways, government's efforts to upgrade country's all national highways have slowed down while tragic mishaps, including head-on collisions on these singe-track routes, send shockwaves almost every day.
According to available data, out of a total 3,813 kilometres of national highways, around 160 kilometres (kms) are of four lanes.
It is likely to increase to 456 kms on completion of the 193-km Dhaka-Chittagong highway and 110-km Dhaka-Mymensingh four-lane works.
As per development project proposals, the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway upgrading will be completed by June next year and Dhaka-Mymensingh highway this year.
The two will add over 300-km four-lane roadways to the country's road network.
At present, the Roads and Highways Department (RHD), responsible agency to construct national and regional highways in the country, has four-lane roads at all starting points from Dhaka.
These divided routes from the capital run towards Joydevpur crossing, Daudkandi bridge through Kanchpur bridge, Nabinagar-Chandra through Gabtoli and Chashara of Narayanganj through Sonirakhra.
Since taking over power, the government has announced plans to turn the country's two-lane highways into four-lane ones in view of increase in country's trade and investment activities with an average six per cent growth. Regional trade activities has have also boosted.
Officials, however, said some 76 kms of four-lane works have been taken up from Joydevpur to Elenga. But there are three more projects in the pipeline.
At present, the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) has the project to upgrade Joydebpur-Chandra-Tangail-Elenga Road to four-lane status for which feasibility study is now underway with the technical support of the Asian Development Bank.
This route is deemed important for having link with the Asian Highway and SAARC corridor under the current preeminent concept of regional and international connectivity for greater human mobility.
RHD sources said the Road Transport and Highways Division has also taken steps to start two more projects this year to turn Dhaka-Sylhet and Hatikamrul-Rangpur roads into four lanes.
These two projects are likely to add 236 kms and 157 kms respectively after the completion.
"But these two projects are in very initial stages and yet to get preliminary approval (preparatory development project proposal (PDPP)," said one of the sources.
RHD officials said prospect of these US$ 1.6 billion and $ 840 million projects is high as the ADB has hinted about funding those for having link with the Asian Highway and SAARC corridor.
Besides, they said, two more road upgradation projects are also under consideration of the RHD under the proposed Indian 2nd line of credits. But these are also in premature stages.
However, the officials admitted that all these four-lane projects are in very initial stages and would take at least six to seven years to complete from the experience of the ongoing projects.
Both Dhaka-Chittagong and Dhaka-Mymensingh four-lane projects have gone through several difficult situation which forced the RHD to extend the time of completion several times.
Though the Dhaka-Chittagong four-lane project is one of the priority projects, its completion is likely to take more than six years from the time of awarding the work to contractors.
The Dhaka-Mymensingh four-lane project has also faced problem in completing in time due to legal complications in awarding the work to another Chinese company. The construction began in 2010 but more five years were taken to complete 115 kms.
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