Bangladesh, a small country roughly the size of the U.S. state of Iowa, is a South Asian country with a population larger than Russia. The reason why this land attracted so many people is related to the region’s geography. Bangladesh is situated over the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta, the largest river delta in the world. The land created by this delta is also one of the most fertile lands in the world. As a result, this land could sustain more people than other places. Again, as the region was full of rivers, people could move to different places through the waterways and trade. Ancient Bengal thus had many busy trading ports and towns which facilitated trade between the east and the west through rivers for thousands of years.
Rivers and waterways were the most viable modes of transportation even after the independence of Bangladesh in 1971. Things began to change with the improvement of the economic condition of the people living in a country devastated by a bloody war of independence. Also, modern, and more affordable cars, buses, and trucks contributed to this change. Waterways had become less popular in many areas as they lacked speed and were time-consuming. Again, pollution contributed by urbanization and industrialization and the construction of barrages and dams upstream had negatively impacted the navigability of waterways. To meet the demand, the construction of new roads and highways started throughout the country to connect all the districts and subdistricts by land, which is still ongoing.
After constructing the roads, it was time to go to the next level, expressways. Bangladesh has right now only one expressway open for traffic. However, multiple expressways will be inaugurated in the next few months, and many more are under construction. Let’s have a look at these expressways.
- Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga Expressway: This is the first expressway in Bangladesh, inaugurated in March 2020. This 55-kilometer-long expressway starts from Dholaipar in Dhaka city and spans through the Padma Multipurpose Bridge to end at Bhanga in Faridpur. It is a four-lane expressway with service lanes on both sides. The expressway is a part of the National Highway N8. It will be extended in the future to connect Mongla and Payra seaports as well as Benapole land port located in south and south-western Bangladesh.
- Dhaka Elevated Expressway: This is the first elevated expressway in Bangladesh, which is under construction. This is a four-lane expressway built entirely over viaducts. After the competition, the expressway will be 19.73 kilometers long, starting from the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway (N3) at Kawla in front of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and ending at Dhaka-Chattogram highway (N1) at Kutubkhali. A 12-kilometer segment of the expressway, stretching from Kawla to Tejgaon, is set to be opened for traffic next month. This expressway will enable vehicles coming from north-western Bangladesh to pass through Dhaka city towards the south and south-eastern Bangladesh without facing the notorious traffic of Dhaka city.
- Purbachal Expressway: This is the first 14-lane road in Bangladesh with an 8-lane expressway and 6 service lanes. The length of this aesthetic expressway is 12.3 kilometers, spanning from Kuril flyover to Dhaka Bypass Expressway near Kanchan Bridge and connecting Dhaka city with Purbachal New Town, which is the largest planned township in Bangladesh with an area of 25 square kilometers. This expressway is set to be inaugurated next month.
- Chattogram Elevated Expressway: This is the first expressway in the port city of Chattogram. It is a 16.5-kilometer long 4-lane expressway stretching from Lalkhan Bazar to Shah Amanat International Airport. This expressway will enable passengers to reach the airport from the city within 30 minutes, which currently takes 2-3 hours. The expressway is set to be inaugurated in November this year.
- Dhaka Bypass Expressway: This is a 48-kilometer-long expressway currently under construction on the outskirts of Dhaka city. The expressway begins at Vogra Bypass in Gazipur and ends at Modonpur in Narayanganj. It will facilitate vehicles to go from Eastern Bangladesh to Western Bangladesh without entering Dhaka city. It is a 4-lane expressway with additional service lanes for local vehicles. The construction is scheduled to end in 2024. The expressway will be connected with National Highways N1, N2 & N3 as well as Purbachal Expressway.
- Ashulia Elevated Expressway: This is 24 kilometers long 4-lane elevated expressway, which begins from Bypail in front of Dhaka EPZ, and will join with Dhaka elevated expressway at Kawla. The construction of this expressway began in November 2022. Once completed, the vehicles can move to the Dhaka Chattogram highway using the combined 44-kilometer elevated expressway from the industrial areas of Ashulia, Kaliakair, and Chandra. It will connect National Highways N3, N4 & N5 with N1.
The reason for writing about the expressways of Bangladesh is that the expressway which is open to traffic at present (Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga Expressway) has not been added to the maps. If we look at other expressways around the globe, we will see that they are highlighted and bolded on the map.
As three expressways are going to be inaugurated this year in Bangladesh, I hope this issue will be taken into consideration and the expressways will be added to the maps as they are open to traffic.
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