With the bus rapid transit (BRT) project linking Gazipur with the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport nearing completion, the authorities concerned are now considering the option of extending the dedicated bus corridor allowing more mixed modes of traffic on it.
BRT is a bus-based mass transit corridor which has been being developed between Gazipur and Dhaka amid challenges since 2013 to make sure the entire 20-kilometre corridor becomes a dedicated lane.
Though major challenges have been overcome and managed in recent time, the BRT scheme could not ensure the dedicated lane near the project's end point in front of Dhaka airport, mainly due to unavailability of required land close to two government establishments like Dhaka Airport Railway Station and the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh.
Therefore, the Dhaka BRT Company proposed continuing the BRT operation until Kuril flyover or Banani flyover, in order to facilitate vehicles of the dedicated bus corridor to make a U-turn.
However, mixing the bus way with a common lane from the airport will totally hamper the BRT's main objective of speedy movement of vehicles, due to heavy traffic of the Dhaka international airport already using the common lane, sources said.
The issue of extension was raised in a meeting held at the Road Transport and Highways Division (RTHD) last month - chaired by RTHD Secretary ABM Amin Ullah Nuri in presence of all stakeholders.
Though the proposal was not accepted, the meeting decided to form a committee to find the best solution in this regard, added the sources.
An official associated with the development said, "The meeting got some more proposals like extending BRT operations up to Banani Chairmanbari U-loop, or Nabisco U-loop, or Sat Rasta crossing - even diverting towards Jahangir Gate considering the need of the BRT passengers to enter further into the city."
He, however, could not confirm the terms of reference of the committee - whether to find a dedicated lane for the buses or to allow through the mixed traffic.
The sources said the meeting also discussed the scope of continuing the Dhaka BRT operations up to metro rail station at Agargaon through Bijoy Sarani and Rokeya Sarani before making a U-turn from the station. Another proposal was also placed to extend the service through a flyover near Radisson hotel towards Kalshi flyover and ECB crossing, targeting the metro rail passengers using the Pallabi station. Another proposal was also made to divert the Dhaka BRT into two routes.
Though the RTHD had a plan to develop a second BRT corridor from Dhaka airport to Mohakhali to continue the BRT operations from the airport after a feasibility study, the plan was shelved in 2019.
But without reviving that BRT project, which was named as BRT-3 under the Strategic Transport Plan, the extension move of the Dhaka BRT through the mixed traffic lane may cause delay in starting the BRT services.
The Roads and Highways Department took the Dhaka BRT project along with Bangladesh Bridge Authority and Local Government Engineering Department (LGED). According to the official record, over 85 per cent work has been completed under the three agencies. But the part of LGED has already been completed.
smunima@yahoo.com