Expressway to partially open on Sept 2, Bangabandhu tunnel on Oct 28

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is set to inaugurate the Bangabandhu tunnel on October 28, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said today at a press briefing at Setu Bhaban in Dhaka.

The tunnel is being built at a cost of Tk 10,374 crore. It's the first tunnel in South Asia which is being built under a river.

The tunnel is being constructed at a depth of 18 to 31 metres under the Karnaphuli and the length of the main tunnel is 3.32km. The length of each of the two tubes, having four lanes, is 2.45km. There will be 5.35km connecting roads at the western and eastern ends of the main tunnel and a 727m flyover at the Anwara end.

The minister also said the long-awaited Dhaka Elevated Expressway's Airport-Farmgate section will be inaugurated by the PM on September 2. 

However, the expressway will be opened to the public on September 3.

Once the 11-kilometre section from the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to Farmgate -- via Kuril, Banani, Mohakhali and Tejgaon -- opens to traffic, it will serve as an alternative route to and from the airport road, one of the busiest in the city.

This section has 15 ramps for accessing and exiting the expressway that will help vehicles avoid traffic-choked crossings and roads, and thus bypass traffic congestion.

Besides, the expressway will be off-limits to three-wheelers, motorcycles and bicycles, allowing other vehicles to run at 80km per hour, according to sources.

The 20km expressway starts from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and ends at Kutubkhali via Kuril-Banani-Mohakhali-Tejgaon-Moghbazar-Kamalapur-Sayedabad-Jatrabari.

The rest of the 19.73km expressway, the first of its kind in the country, is expected to open next year.

Commuters will have to pay tolls to use the expressway, which is also the first project in the transport sector which is being implemented under the Public-Private Partnership model with foreign investment.

Meanwhile, the Agargaon-Motijheel section of the metro rail is expected to open by mid-October, said a source.

In an infrastructure push before the upcoming national polls, at least 150 bridges under the Roads and Highways Department will be opened in a single day in September.