Moghbazar-Mouchak flyover may compound commuters sufferings, apprehends an expert

The Moghbazar-Mouchak flyover, a Tk 12 billion project in the centre of the capital to ease traffic snarl, may even compound sufferings of the commuters, apprehend experts.

They said the 8.7-kilometre flyover, designed more than a decade ago by foreign engineers keeping in view left-hand driving by mistake, is being erected with several faults, including on ramps.

BUET Civil Engineering Department Professor Md Shamsul Hoque said the fault was caused because the design was not examined by the independent experts, local planners were not consulted and  no public hearing was held.

“The long flyover won’t ease traffic congestions as it has not enough options for vehicles taking right turn. It cannot ensure vehicles reaching destination in shorter time,” he said.

The professor said the signal system at Mouchak point would cause traffic jam on the flyover itself.

The four-lane flyover will have ramps at Satrasta (Tejgaon), Karwan Bazar, Moghbazar, Ramna, Bangla Motor, Malibagh, Rajarbagh and Shantinagar for vehicles to get on and off the flyover.

Three years after the physical works of the project began, the ramps for vehicles descending are now found more steep than those for their ascending – a situation opposite to requirement in Bangladesh.

Experts blames taking into consideration left-hand driving for the faults and apprehend that they would make the flyover prone to accidents.

“Many unfit and overloaded buses, trucks and other vehicles operate on roads here. Overloaded vehicles may meet with accidents while getting on the flyover,” said the BUET professor.

Hoque, who designed Kurhil and Banani-Zia Colony flyovers, said in countries where vehicles are right-hand drive, flyovers are constructed to give them easier access to roads on the right.

“Mohakhali and Khilgaon flyovers are two examples of such infrastructures. But Moghbazar-Mouchak flyover is not having right-turn options at many important points,” he said.

The BUET professor said faults in the design were detected when officials of Local Government Engineering Department (LGED), supervisor of the construction works, contacted local experts after facing ‘some problems’.

“They came to us with defects in installation of decks. We could fix them. The faults in the design were noticed at that time,” he said.

The professor thinks the design faults cannot be rectified at the present state of flyover construction.

Hoque, who was involved in formulation of Strategic Transport Plan for Dhaka, holds LGED engineers and policymakers responsible for the lapses. 

“These (LGED) engineers lack experiences in constructing infrastructures in cities. Moreover, local engineers were not consulted before physical works on the project began. That’s why the faults were not noticed,” he said.

City planner Prof Nazrul Islam Khan expressed his resentment over the fault in the flyover’s design.

“Enough analysis was not done before the implementation of the project. Those responsible for the implementation apparently lack skills. It’s unfortunate,” he said.