As Padua Bazar flyover project stalls, risky U-loop fuels fatal crashes

Construction of a flyover loop at Padua Bazar on the Dhaka–Chattogram Highway has stalled, forcing vehicles to rely on a hazardous U-turn that locals say is causing frequent accidents and fatalities.

Padua Bazar, at the junction of the Dhaka–Chattogram and Cumilla–Noakhali highways, is a key bypass for traffic across six southeastern districts. Vehicles must take a U-turn there to access connecting routes, but with work on the loop stuck, unsafe crossings remain the only option.

Locals complain that despite the junction’s importance, long-term infrastructure planning has been absent. 

Officials say only 40 percent of the project has been completed. 

“Once he land acquisition issues are resolved, construction will finish and travel will be safe,” said Khandaker Golam Mostafa, executive engineer of the Roads and Highways Department in Cumilla.

The design calls for a 2,142.7m loop, with a 75.54m pedestrian underpass built using push-box technology. The Tk 5.87 billion project began in October 2022 and was due for completion in June 2024, but work has dragged on, with landowners filing 57 objections over compensation on the northern stretch. Only one has been settled so far.

The project gained renewed urgency after a fatal crash in which a car was crushed under a lorry at the junction, killing four family members. Since then, the district administration has shut the accident-prone U-turn and diverted vehicles through Dayapur as a temporary measure.

Local journalists and residents have urged a swift resolution of land disputes, warning that delays fuel further tragedies. 

“If land acquisition had been completed on time, 80 percent of the work could have been finished by now,” said BNP leader Mahbubur Rahman.

Highway Police also pressed for urgent completion, saying Padua Bazar serves vehicles travelling from Dhaka, Chattogram, Sylhet and beyond into Noakhali, Lakshmipur, Chandpur, Cumilla and Feni.

Cumilla district administrator Md Amirul Kayes said objections would be settled within three months. In the meantime, a wider new U-turn east of the site will be opened temporarily, with strict enforcement against wrong-way traffic.