Moghbazar flyover fully opens to public today

The remaining parts of Mouchak-Moghbazar flyover, the country’s longest flyover, are opening for public use today.

Sushanta Kumar Paul, the flyover project director, said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will open the Kakrail-Malibagh, Rajarbagh-Mouchak, Rampura-Mouchak and Mouchak-Eskaton portions of the flyover through a videoconferencing at 12:00pm from Ganabhaban on Thursday.

After the inauguration of the remaining 5.5-km overpass of the entire 8.7-km flyover, vehicles can move over eight road intersections and three level-crossings at Karwan Bazar, Moghbazar and Malibagh.

The authorities expect that the inauguration of the last parts of the flyover will ease traffic congestion in the capital.

Earlier on March 17 last year, the prime minister inaugurated the first 2-km section of the flyover, which stretches from Shaheed Captain Mansur Ali Avenue (Moghbazar) near Holy Family Red Crescent Medical College Hospital to Saatrasta intersection (Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Avenue).

Later, on September 15 last year, Local Government Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain opened another 2.25km section connecting Bangla Motor and Mouchak.

A total of Tk 1,218 crore has been spent on the construction of the flyover.The flyover drew criticisms for repeatedly raising its project costs, deferring its implementation deadline, public sufferings, and faulty designs.

The project’s construction went on for four years causing sufferings to pedestrians,commuters and residents in the project areas. Roads tattered during construction at Moghbazar, Mouchak and Shantinagar areas were contributed to huge losses suffered by local businesses at the area.

Finally, the inauguration of the flyover will bring an end to the sufferings the commuters and residents in the area have been going through over the last four years due to the snail’s pace of construction work.

With a view to easing traffic in one of the capital’s busiest areas, the construction work on the integrated Moghbazar-Mouchak Flyover Project began in January 2013 with a deadline to complete it by June 2015.

On January 19, 2016, the project timeframe was extended by another 18 months to June 2017, as its length had been extended through redesigning of its structure to make it more usable for easing traffic jam in the capital.

But, the construction firm also missed the deadline.

India-Bangladesh joint venture, Simplex Navana Joyti, China’s Metalargical Construction Overseas Company (No.4) and Toma Constructions Ltd were implementing the project.

Source: dailysun