PM opens part of Mouchak-Moghbazar flyover

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today inaugurated a two-kilometre section of the 8.5km Mouchak-Moghbazar flyover in Dhaka.

The four-lane carriageway linear section passes over the Moghbazar level crossing and flies over Saat Rasta and Moghbazar intersections, two intersections notorious for congestion.

It stretches from Saat Rasta intersection (Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Avenue) up to Shaheed Captain Mansur Ali Avenue (Moghbazar) near Holy Family Red Crescent Medical College Hospital.

Today, Prime Minister Hasina inaugurated the section of flyover that stretched from Tejgaon industrial area to Holy Family Hospital in Eskaton.   

A project official said the inauguration was earlier scheduled for March 26.

The construction work of this portion was carried out hurriedly over the past few weeks to get it ready for inauguration. 

During a visit around the flyover site yesterday afternoon, construction workers were seen busy doing some last minute patch-up under the flyover section ready for inauguration.

As to why a section of the flyover was being hurriedly opened, Project Director Nazmul Alam yesterday said, “We just wanted to open as much of it to the public as is ready, since a high volume of traffic uses this road.”

“The sooner we open it, the more it would help the people,” he added.        

As to whether they had any estimate of the volume of traffic that use this portion of the road, Nazmul said, “I can't say that instantly.” 

He said they would open another two-kilometre stretch of the flyover --from Banglamotor to Mouchak -- in June and rest of the flyover covering Mouchak, Rajarbagh and Shanti Nagar by early next year. The deadline for the project is June next year. 

The Saat Rasta-Moghbazar section of the flyover would facilitate only a portion of the existing traffic volume, as there is no provision for right turns, said relevant experts.   

Prof Shamsul Hoque, who worked as a technical expert on Strategic Transport Plan of Dhaka, yesterday said it would help as a parallel alternative diversion for traffic during the ensuing metro rail construction work along Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue.