Commuters who crossed the Dhaka Elevated Expressway on Sunday, the first day on the country’s first ever elevated expressway, were found to be very excited with their experience of a smooth journey from the airport to Farmgate without any traffic jam or any stoppage.
The elevated expressway was opened to traffic at 6:00am hours after the inauguration by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday.
Mass people consider that the opening of the expressway also opened a new era of the communication system in the capital city Dhaka as well as in Bangladesh.
It was said that it would take only 10 minutes to travel from the airport to Farmgate, at first it was unbelievable but today after driving through the expressway, riders of different vehicles believed it.
A UAE bound passenger talked to this correspondent at the airport and he shared that he left his temporary residence at Greenroad early assuming traffic congestion but it took him only a few minutes to arrive at the airport using the expressway.
Hasan, who works in a private firm, said that although the office car took more time on other days, today he managed to reach Farmgate from Uttara in less than half and hour. Like him, his other colleagues were also excited.
Like them, many other commuters were highly enthusiastic who witnessed the day’s experiences of how people traveled in such a short time on the expressway.
The elevated expressway, from the Kawla area adjacent to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to Farmgate, has been opened to the public on Sunday early morning. It takes only 10 minutes to travel this distance of 11.5 km. A total of 15 ramps have been constructed from the airport end to the Farmgate end. Of these, 13 have been opened.
As the day progressed, the expressway became more congested. Especially, most of the ramps had traffic tails on Sunday. In between, the farmgate ramp spread up to Bijay Sarani. The traffic police and volunteers had to struggle to cope with the sudden increase in traffic.
However, the traffic department will sit with the concerned to make smooth movement of vehicles at these ramps of Dhaka Elevated Expressway.
Asked about the traffic jams at the expressway ramps, Architect and Designer Iqbal Habib told Bangladesh Post, “The expressway for which it was constructed will be reflected once the entire expressway is opened. At present, the expressway provides short-term travel experience from the airport to Farmgate, but the on- and off-ramps are causing congestion which, if not resolved quickly, may lead to traffic jams on the expressway as well.”
Meanwhile, motorcycles and CNG run auto-rickshaws have been banned on the expressway. However, several CNG auto-rickshaws and motorcycles attempted to ride on the expressway but in the face of volunteers and police resistance they could not.
In this situation, the CNG Owners Association president has said urged to sit in a meeting with the concerned authorities to make a way so that they can use the expressway also. On the other hand, bikers have also demanded to make a separate lane like on the Padma Bride to allow them to ply on the expressway.
About the toll
After the opening of the expressway on Sunday at 6:00 am, 942 vehicles traveled through the elevated expressway in two hours from 6 am to 8 am. However, as the day progressed, the pressure of the vehicles increased gradually. According to data from the toll plazas till 9 am, 2117 vehicles used the expressway in the first three hours. Tk 6,29,280 toll has been collected in 9 hours. A total of 7733 vehicles have moved till 3 pm of the day.
Meanwhile, some bus drivers have objected to the high rates of toll amount. On this expressway, private cars, micro-buses (less than 16 seats) and mini-trucks (less than 3 tonnes) will have to pay a toll of Tk 80, medium-sized trucks (up to 6 wheels) and larger trucks with more than 6 wheels Tk 320 and Tk 400 respectively.
Meanwhile, all buses and minibuses with 16 or more seats on Kawla-Farmgate section of Dhaka Elevated Expressway will have to pay Tk 160 toll.
