The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) has decided to upgrade the Jatrabari-Demra road into four-lane one with a view to easing congestion around Kanchpur bridge areas, officials said on Wednesday.
The officials said the RHD will upgrade the 5.4-kilometre-road from Mayor Hanif Flyover at Jatrabari to Sultana Kamal Bridge at Demra.
The department officials said they had sought approval for the Tk 3.69 billion project from the Planning Commission (PC).
"We will upgrade the highways into four-lane. Service lanes on both the sides of the proposed road will also be constructed for slow-moving vehicles," said a RHD official.
He said, "Once this road was utilised mainly to go to Sylhet and Narshingdi areas from the Dhaka city. After constructing the Kanchpur Bridge on the Shitalakhya River, the traffic congestion through the new route has increased."
If the Jatrabari-Demra-Shimrail road is upgraded into four-lane with all the traffic facilities, it will be a new smooth corridor for the vehicles to go to Sylhet and north-eastern Bangladesh, the RHD official added.
Currently, most of Chittagong and Sylhet-bound vehicles use the Kanchpur Bridge to leave the capital city.
The traffic through the Kanchpur Bridge often creates massive congestion in these areas.
The RHD official said they would construct 5.4km road, 6.64km service lane, 11 underpasses, one overpass and a few small bridges on the road.
"If the Planning Commission approves the projects shortly, we have a plan to upgrade the road by June 2020," he said.
A commission official said they have referred it to the Project Evaluation Committee (PEC) for consideration.
After getting greenlight from the committee, the commission will place it before the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council for the final approval, the commission official added.
