The cracks developed on the entire length and breadth of the Dhaka-Chittagong highway are a cause for serious concern -albeit not surprising. When a mega project is not soundly backed by vision and techno-savvy engineering wisdom, such things are bound to happen. First, the old two lanes were not re-laid but maintained by overlaying, ignoring the fact that the life of those constructed in the 1980's were already over. The addition of two more lanes to the old lanes could not be synchronised by just overlaying. Repair works could not be enough for striking a balance between the old and newly constructed lanes. Also the inordinate delay in completing the project did not help the cause. Add to this the running of overloaded vehicle payload on the highway, the damage to it is complete. According to an official of the Roads and Highway Division, a single 20 per cent more overloaded vehicle than its allowable limit can cause loss of longevity to a highway by half.
Even if such extensive damage is not caused by a single overloaded freight, there is no doubt that many of such heavy duty vans can damage roads and highways prematurely. If there is weakness in construction -deliberate or otherwise, the pace of deterioration of such infrastructures only accelerates. Maybe, there is a combination of all these phenomena for the development of cracks within a year all over the Dhaka-Chittagong highway. One thing needs to be clarified here. Are the local engineers not knowledgeable enough to foresee the consequences of construction mismatch? If their expertise and experience fell short of the demanding requirement, did the foreign company suggest a remedy when the four-lane project was undertaken? The overrun costs for rescheduling the completion deadlines have gone waste now that a separate maintenance project worth Tk 7.0 billion is to be initiated soon. Its aim reportedly is to maintain the highway worthy of running vehicles at least for the next five years. But there is no guarantee if the cost will not overrun again and the highway will hold firm.
By the look of it, this mega project has been a flop. Sure enough, maintenance has never been a strong point for the public works department. When this complaint is made, few notice that there are instances of shabby works where no amount of maintenance can be of any help. When a bridge collapses before or immediately after inauguration, it becomes clear that all involved with its construction misappropriated the fund allocated for it. Similarly, roads developing cracks or potholes within months of their construction point accusing fingers at the greedy contractors, engineers and others backing them from behind.
This is a culture of malpractice that shows no sign of disappearance from public works. No one denies that if private firms take the responsibility of construction, they must have profit. But there should be a limit to profit making, it cannot be at the expense of the quality of works. The Dhaka-Chittagong Highway is the country's first four-lane corridor and the most important one at that so far as import and export are concerned. No lapses in its construction can be allowed. A review of the entire episode should be made in order to bring to book all those responsible for its present deplorable condition.