The government is spending heavily on construction of flyovers in the capital with a view to easing traffic congestions. But the most crucial issue is whether the flyovers would yield the results they are aimed at. Because it has already been found that in some cases the constructed flyovers are not serving the purposes up to the expectations. Rather, they have been another cause of misery. For example, the gridlock of the road segment has shifted to the Kakoli intersection in the city as several flyovers have been constructed for capacity augmentation of the road without any capacity enhancement of the intersection. It is quite undesirable and it is expected that there will be no such example in the whole network. Moreover, it is very much expected that all flyovers-those that have already been constructed or those under-construction or proposed ones-must yield beneficial results. And in order to get the beneficial impacts of the flyovers the following issues should be considered:
(1) The authorities should take up necessary steps to adequately enhance the capacity of intersections linked with such flyovers in order to exploit their full potential. Moreover, in the event of flyovers already constructed but not yet operational, if this issue remains unresolved, then they should not be opened to traffic until an effective solution is obtained. In case of under-construction flyovers this issue should be addressed first before proceeding with further construction work. If this issue remains unresolved, then the gridlock will not only reappear but also flow up and down the intersections.
(2) To avert any such congestion on the upper part of a flyover because of the gridlock at any intersection of it traffic signals could be installed to regulate the number of vehicles. It is an interim solution until the authorities take necessary steps to increase the capacity of the intersections.
 (3) The entry and exit points of all flyovers must be easily accessible for traffic. On the contrary, the serviceability of the Shantinagar-Mawa elevated expressway itself might be useful while selection of the location at Shantinagar seems to be awful as the gridlock at Shantinagar is severe even on a normal day, let alone what will happen when more traffic will be generated or diverted towards the route on commissioning of the flyover. This case is cited only for an example. Therefore, it could be concluded that more discretion is necessary for site selection. The authorities should address conveniently ingress and egress issues in all cases and, if necessary, more suitable locations could be proposed.
(4) Acquisition of land and widening of pavements are necessary to remove logjams at the entry and exit points of flyovers in many cases.
(5) Construction of flyovers might boost the number of motor vehicles and therefore the number should be contained to exploit full benefits of flyovers, particularly for private vehicles.
 (6) It is apprehended that unilateral capacity augmentation of arterial roads by constructing flyovers might shift the logjam problem to the other nearby roads. So, the flow of private vehicles should be strictly controlled, particularly during peak hours.
 (7) Staggered office timings could also be an option to ease the pressure during peak hours and reduce the rush of traffic by evenly distributing it over a longer period so that collector and local roads can withstand the pressure.
 (8) Provision for mass transit systems like Bas Rapid Transit (BRT) should be incorporated, wherever applicable, into the flyover which requires exclusive lanes. If required, private modes of transports should be prohibited during peak hours. Moreover, the BRT using double-decker modes of transports of different classes (such as AC and non-AC) could be an option to address the need of the people of different income groups. We must focus on an efficient BRT system; because it is probably the best answer to the current gridlock problem in the city. Besides, introduction of an effective BRT system is also necessary for reining in the car population and thereby reducing air pollution as the country has already been labeled as the nation witnessing the highest level of air pollution. Furthermore, increasing the car population is also responsible for the deteriorating road safety standard.
 (9) As the numbers of vehicles are increasing, the projection of vehicles to be on streets in future is necessary to determine the remaining life of the flyovers so that proper planning could be sketched out in advance so as to when and how the additional capacity would have to be added.
(10)Â The entry point of the Kuril Flyover (while travelling from the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport end) is very close to the existing railway track, it is not safe for any of the modes of transports plying there. This issue should have been considered at the planning stage, however as the flyover has already been constructed, therefore, the railway track could be relocated to a safe distance. It could be concluded that all these aspects should be meticulously weighed in the phase of planning.
As the construction of flyovers has drawn flaks in several cases, the authorities need to undertake a thorough review of proposals to rectify the faults and deficiencies in the phase of planning. It is recommended that a panel of experts should be formed to review the effectiveness of the flyovers already constructed and take corrective measures, if necessary. Likewise, such reviews are necessary for under-construction and proposed flyovers also.
In all the above cases, where applicable, software and modeling techniques should be employed to undertake scenario analyses so that accurate and objective results are obtained. To this end, if necessary, foreign 'competent' consultants might be hired. But the authorities should enhance their own expertise to a standard level so that in the future they can handle all such tasks on their own. Moreover, it is expected that the authorities should learn from the previous mistakes. We must keep in mind that these are interim solutions. To have a properly-developed city in future for our posterity, we must do the planning right night.
The writer is a road safety and transport engineer. himu120@yahoo.co.nz
Using flyovers to the full potential
Md. Shamsul Arefin | Published: March 29, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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