40 kilometres tailback on Dhaka-Chattogram highway

Bangla Press Desk: A 50-kilometer traffic jam has been created on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway. The severe traffic jam has been created on the Dhaka-bound lane of the highway from Chandina in Comilla to Ashariarchar Bridge in Narayanganj.
The traffic jam has been going on since Friday (August 28) afternoon to Saturday morning. This has caused extreme suffering to passengers.
After investigation, it has been learned that the traffic jam was caused due to the renovation of Ashariarchar Bridge in Narayanganj. This has brought the Dhaka-bound lane of the highway to a standstill. Thousands of vehicles have been stranded in the 50-kilometer long traffic jam.
The Roads Department said that a large pothole had formed in a part of the Dhaka-bound lane of Ashariarchar Bridge. The pothole was getting bigger day by day, so the Roads Department started renovation work there around 11 am on Friday due to the fear of an accident. During the renovation work, one of the two lanes of the highway was closed and vehicles were allowed to ply through the other lane. As a result, the pressure of vehicles on the highway gradually increased and eventually turned into a long traffic jam.
On Saturday, the situation became more complicated when the pressure of additional vehicles crossed through one lane. This caused traffic jams on the highway to spread to Chandina in Comilla. Meanwhile, foreign-bound passengers were in extreme trouble due to the long traffic jam.
Star Line bus driver Yahia, who was stuck in the long traffic jam, said, "We have been stuck in the traffic jam since midnight on Friday. The suffering of the passengers has reached its peak."
Saint Martin Paribahan driver Humayun Azad said, "A 50-kilometer traffic jam has been created from Chandina in Comilla to Narayanganj. We have been stuck in the traffic jam for almost eight hours."
A bus passenger named Mahabub, who was stuck at the toll plaza, said, "We are stuck in the same place even after hours have passed. Ordinary passengers do not know why there is such a long traffic jam." Daudkandi Highway Police Station OC Prem Das Roy said that the main reason for the traffic jam from Daudkandi to Meghna Toll Plaza is road renovation in the Ashariarchar Bridge area. This long traffic jam has been created due to the closure of one lane of the highway. The Highway Police is trying to resolve the traffic jam.
Kanchpur Highway Police Station OC Shafiul Islam said that the Road Department is carrying out urgent renovation work on one of the two lanes of the highway in the Ashariarchar area. This has created a traffic jam due to vehicles moving in one lane at a time.
He also said that multiple teams of Highway Police are working continuously in the field to normalize the movement of vehicles and control the traffic jam.
BP/TD