Move on to build $50m ‘faulty’ flyover-tunnel in front of PMO

The Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) has taken a move to build a 'faulty' flyover-plus-tunnel in front of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to lessen traffic pressure on Old Airport Road in the capital.
It will be built discarding the previous plan to construct a tunnel from Jahangir Gate to Rokeya Shoroni for not getting green signal from the Armed Forces.
Experts, however, observed that the new initiative will create a negative impact on the road, as it will not help reduce traffic jam on the important artery by offloading targeted vehicles from it.
They said the proposed $ 50 million cost flyover-plus-underpass, named as Dhaka Road Tunnel, will not give option to the vehicles to use the route from Rokeya Shoroni to Mohakhali flyover.
However, its foreign consultant - SMEC - said it is feasible from Mohakhali flyover that will connect Rokeya Shoroni through an underpass below Old Airport Road, official sources said.
They said the proposed infrastructure will divert the vehicles coming and going towards Mohakhali and Rokeya Shoroni, as hundreds of them remain stranded on both sides of the signal near PMO.
Earlier, BBA took an initiative to construct the 75-metre Jahangir Gate-Rokeya Shoroni tunnel at a cost of US$ 125 million after
SMEC recommended it feasible in 2011.
A study showed that it would divert vehicles of areas including Mirpur, Mohammadpur Agargaon, Shenpara, Kazipara, Mirpur 10 and Shyamoli etc, avoiding Old Airport Road.  
The proposal remained shelved for not getting approval from the Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) on security ground.
The BBA officials said after receiving the new SMEC feasibility study to construct the road tunnel, they have started preparing the preliminary development project proposal to get foreign aid for the project.
An official said the Economic Relations Division has hinted BBA of getting fund, as its estimated cost is lower than the previous project's cost.
The feasibility study recommended attaching the infrastructure with Mohakhali flyover. It will cross over Shahinbag to touch the ground near Old Airport Road.
However, he said SMEC was supposed to conduct the feasibility based on six options. But the firm completed it without necessary study.
SMEC recommended construction of the flyover-plus-underpass after consultations with all stakeholders, including the Armed Forces.
Official also said the company recommended the previously-planned Jahangir Gate-Rokeya Shoroni tunnel as the best option among all.
When asked about the new route, transport expert M Shamsul Haque said the proposed tunnel has serious configuration problem. It would forcibly take the traffic of Rokeya Shoroni towards Kakoli, giving no option to go to other nearby roads, including those at Tejgaon and Gulshan.
Besides, it would create new congestion at the Rokeya Shoroni signal point, where the vehicles of Old Airport Road reach through the feeder road.
The professor of Bangladesh University of the Engineering and Technology (BUET) said this kind of route should not be finalized without any public hearing.
According to the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority study, the capital experiences the highest number of vehicles on Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue in absence of any east-west connecting road. Some six big intersections also deteriorate the traffic situation on the road.
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