Published : 27 May 2026, 05:45 PM
Updated : 21 Aug 2026, 03:47 PM
A combination of Eid-ul-Azha travel rush, downpours, and multiple breakdowns has slowed traffic to a crawl on the Dhaka–Tangail–Jamuna Bridge Highway.
The gridlock began building at the Jamuna Bridge toll plaza on Tuesday night before spilling over onto the bridge and its connecting roads as several vehicles broke down in the dark.
Homebound travellers faced immense suffering, with women, children, and the elderly bearing the brunt of the delay.
Local sources said the congestion eased slightly on Wednesday morning, but still left a 28-km tailback stretching from the bridge's toll plaza to the Karatia Bypass in Sadar Upazila.
Elenga Highway Police chief Md Sharif said overnight rain combined with several broken-down vehicles caused traffic to proceed in a stop-and-go manner across the Tangail segment of the highway, forcing vehicles to trudge along at a snail's pace.
He, however, could not specify the exact length of the tailback.
Tanvir Hossain, a Rajshahi-bound passenger from Dhaka, said: "Vehicles have been inching forward since Chandra, and it was complete gridlock up from Tangail.
“A journey that usually takes an hour and a half took nearly five and a half hours. I am still stuck here at Pouli on the highway.”
Another traveller, Afroza Begum, who was heading to Natore, said: "The bus has slowed to a crawl ever since we left Dhaka, and everything ground to a halt after reaching Gharinda in Tangail.
“We haven’t even crossed Tangail in nine hours."
Liakat Miah, who braved the weather to travel in an open truck, said: "No buses had empty seats, not even for standing. I was forced to pay three times the regular fare to catch a ride on a truck.
“I am completely drenched in the rain, and this traffic makes it so much harder."
Jamuna Bridge Site Office Executive Engineer Syed Riaz Uddin said overnight rain and an influx of holiday traffic caused some congestion, adding that he expected traffic to return to normal as the day progressed.
